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Summary EDEXCEL A-Level Politics (Yr12&13)
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Unit 1: UK PoliticsDemocracy
Current systems of representative democracy and direct democracy in the UK
a) Representative democracy
Representative democracy
➢ The UK is a representative democracy, which means that the voters elect politicians to
make decisions on their behalf. It is the job of professional politicians to acquire a sort of
political understanding so that they can make informed decisions in the interests of the
whole nation.
○ Elected politicians are made accountable to the electorate in regular elections.
This means that the voters retain sovereignty because they decide whether or
not to renew the mandate of their representatives.
➢ Elected politicians should represent the interests of all their constituents.
○ As a result, members of parliament (MPs) spend a significant amount of time in
their constituencies listening to the concerns of the people in public meetings and
surgeries.
■ The Westminster Parliament contains 650 MPs, all of whom are
accountable to their constituents in regular general elections.
■ Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own devolved
governments that legislate on most of their domestic affairs, while elected
mayors and local councils provide another layer of representation for the
public.
★ Advantages:
○ Government is carried out by professional politicians who are required to
be well informed about political issues
○ More likely to make politically educated decisions
○ Elected politicians balance conflicting interests when reaching decisions
★ Disadvantages:
○ MPs represent a metropolitan elite that does not represent the more
traditional values of the population – e.g. in the 2016 EU membership
referendum 52% of the public voted to leave the European Union,
whereas 74% of MPs had been in favour of remaining
○ Pressure groups and lobbyists establish a self-perpetuating Westminster
‘bubble’
○ MPs can have outside interests
○ The Westminster Parliament is highly unrepresentative because it is
elected through first-past-the-post (FPTP)
, b) Direct democracy
Direct democracy
➢ Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which decisions are directly made by the
public without their opinions being channelled through representatives. In a direct
democracy there is no distinction between government and citizen. Instead, there is
continuous engagement by the public in the democratic process. However, elements of
direct democracy have been introduced into the UK’s system of representative
democracy to engage the public more closely in issues that directly concern them.
○ E.g. referendums, electronic petitions, consultative exercises, open primaries.
★ Advantages:
○ It engages the public and makes politicians more responsive to what
people really think. This creates a closer connection between the public
and political decision making
○ By providing the public with more opportunities to make decisions it
creates greater engagement in the political process, encouraging a more
politically educated and civically involved citizenry
○ A greater use of direct democracy ensures that our representatives are
kept better informed of developing public attitudes through referendums,
consultative exercises and electronic petitions
★ Disadvantages:
○ Critics of direct democracy respond that referendums dangerously
simplify questions to a binary ‘yes/no’ when the issues are much more
complex than that
○ Does not balance conflicting interests or protect the rights of minorities
○ Direct democracy can also encourage the public to vote on issues on
which they are not sufficiently knowledgeable to make well-informed
decisions
c) Is the UK suffering from a participation crisis?
It has been suggested that a general failure to engage in politics means that the public are so
content with politics that they see no pressing need to engage. This is an extremely dangerous
argument because it suggests that politicians should aspire to complete public disengagement
from politics, which would be the end of participatory democracy.
Public trust in MPs
➢ A criticism of MPs is that they can exploit their public position for private gain.
➢ Voting is one of the most obvious and important ways of engaging in politics.
○ Between 1964 and 1997 the average turnout in general elections was 74.5%
➢ Voter turnout dramatically decreased to just 59.4% in 2001 when the Blair government
seemed almost certain of being re-elected given its strong record on governing
competence
, ➢ In the next four general elections more pressing issues were at stake and so voting
steadily increased, reaching a high point of 68% in 2017
➢ However, the average turnout in general elections from 2005 to 2019 was 65.7% which
suggests a concerning downward trend
Participation crisis is a point at which the public becomes disengaged from politics and voting
levels have fallen so low that the legitimacy of the elected government can be questioned
➢ Some evidence, however, suggests that claims of a participation crisis are
exaggerated. When issues are sufficiently important to the public they can still vote in
very large numbers.
○ E.g. The Scottish independence referendum in 2014 recorded an 84% turnout
○ There was also an increase of 7% inviting from the first to the second
referendums in the UK membership of the EEC/EU
d) In what ways is UK democracy in need of reform?
Critics of the UK’s system of representative democracy argue that radical steps need to be
taken to re-inspire enthusiasm for the democratic process. Trust in politicians and political party
membership has declined and the turnout in general elections has substantially decreased. New
ways need to be found to make politics relevant to the public. This is vital to maintain legitimacy.
Proposals for reform
➢ Critics suggest that there are several ways in which politicians could be made more
responsive to the public. Various proposals could encourage greater accountability and
address claims of a democratic deficit and so lead to an increase in participation…
○ People’s referendums – by greater use of direct democracy, the people
themselves are able to make choices and hold politicians accountable. Criticisms
have been made that the public are being asked to vote on issues only when the
government wants them to (e.g. EU referendum in 2016).
○ Electronic petitions – the introduction of electronic petitions means that the
Westminster Parliament now includes an element of direct democracy enabling
the public to raise issues that they believe need resolving. Some critics suggest
that electronic petitions could be more powerful if they automatically trigger a
parliamentary vote.
○ Power of recall – the recall of MPs Act 2015 enables voters to trigger
by-elections if 10% of them sign a petition. However, the circumstances when
this can happen are quite extreme (e.g. suspension fromm the HoC)
○ Further devolution – in order to encourage greater democratic participation, it
has been suggested that more power should be devolved from Westminster,
thereby giving people greater self-determination. However, turnout in these
elections suggests that providing another layer of government is not that effective
a way of energising political involvement. There is also little enthusiasm for an
English Parliament.
, ○ House of Lords reform – the HoL is unelected and unaccountable. Its
membership is appointed and there are claims that this can encourage political
cronyism (e.g. Johnson appointed 86 new life peers, the majority of whom were
Conservatives). Making the Lords an elected chamber would make Westminster
fully democratically accountable. The danger is that an elected Lords could
become a rival to the Commons, potentially creating a constitutional gridlock.
○ Digital democracy – voting on your mobile phone at your convenience could
likely encourage more voting, but it would also mean that voting was no longer
carried out in secrecy and so the possibility of voter manipulation would
increase. Cyber-interference could also be a drawback.
○ Reform of the Westminster electoral system – critics of FPTP claim that it
discourages voting because it limits voter choice by over-rewarding the Labour
and Conservative parties (two-party system). The replacement of FPTP with a
proportional form of election would create a fairer connection between the votes
a party receives and its representation in Parliament (e.g. if wasted votes and
safe seats were eliminated, votes would carry more weight). However, the 2011
AV referendum demonstrated that a large majority was in favour of not replacing
FPTP with AV.
○ Compulsory voting – countries like Belgium have implemented compulsory
voting since 1893, and in the 2019 federal election turnout was 90%. However,
compulsory voting is also highly controversial since critics claim that it gives the
state too much power to coerce its citizens.
■ Should voting be made compulsory?
● Yes
○ Political apathy is a problem in many liberal democracies.
In the 2019 UK general election, turnout was 67.3% (in
1992 it had been 77.7%). Limited numbers of people voting
can undermine the legitimacy of the result, especially if
turnout falls beneath 50%
○ Compulsory voting does not have to force people to make
a choice. In Australia, for example, the voters can spoil
their ballot if none of the candidates appeals to them. They
must, though, attend a polling station
○ The legal requirement to vote can have an important
educational role. If people are required to vote, they will be
more likely to inform themselves of the political choices
open to them
● No
○ The votes of politically disengaged citizens will carry
less weight than the votes of those who take their civic
responsibilities seriously. Random voting could undermine
the legitimacy of the result
○ The extension of the power of the state over the individual
ought to be resisted since it limits our right to act in the way
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