Preview

How democratic is the UK

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
932 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How democratic is the UK
How democratic is the UK?

It can be argued that Britain is both democratic and undemocratic; this can be shown via a range of issues relating to British politics and the society in which we live. The generally accepted definition of a democracy is a form of government in which the major decisions of government and the direction of policy behind these decisions - rests directly or indirectly on the freely given consent of the freely given consent of the freely majority of the adults government. There are two forms of democracy but the UK is run through an indirect or representative democracy as opposed to a direct democracy, which relies on referendums and would be difficult in a large, modern society. Furthermore, the UK is a parliamentary democracy, the government and representatives are intermingled meaning that the UK does not have separation of powers, meaning that the executive, legislative and judicial courts all work together unlike the American Presidential system which could create a lack in communication. In this essay, I propose to argue both for and against and eventually come to a conclusion whether the UK is democratic or not and give a comparison between the UK and the US in terms of democracy. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ democracy but certain aspects are needed to make a democracy. A democracy needs a political system for choosing and replacing the government through frequent, free and fair elections in which people choose their leaders and to hold their leaders accountable for their policies and their conduct in office. Elections have to occur at regular intervals, as prescribed by law. Those in power cannot extend their terms in office without asking for the consent of the people again in an election. For elections to be free and fair, they have to be administered by a neutral, fair, and professional body that treats all political parties and candidates equally. All parties and candidates must have the right to campaign freely,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There have been many constitutional reforms since 1997 that is progressive towards a more democratic system, however it is not a complete democracy and there are still parts of the constitution could be improved. In 1997 Labour government came to power, with tony blair as prime minister, later Gordon Brown came to power between 2007 to 2010 have made a series of constitutional reforms. This was due to the fact that many practices of british politics were out of date, and therefore sought to modernise the constitution. Another main issue was that the central parliament, Westminster has too much power and therefore the labour party sought to decentralize and distribute the power towards other regions.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    To what extent does democracy in the UK suffer from a participation crisis? (25 marks)…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There is an element of truth in the given statement and this essay will seek to explain UK’s Parliament today does, to a certain degree, lack democratic accountability, and this can be shown in dominance of the (i) Executive, (ii) Unrepresentative, and its (iii) Detachment from citizens.…

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is an argument that the government has the power and right to change laws and represent people without necessarily having to be elected. This can also be known as ‘Democratic deficit’. An example of democratic deficit is the House of Lords. The members in the House of Lords aren’t elected but they get to make laws and represent the people. The members in House of Lords are usually given their seats hereditarily so many people found it unfair that they’re not elected into the Parliament but they can make decisions and laws on our behalf.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By "a democracy" we mean that there should be several certain features present. These features consist of universal adult suffrage, equal constituencies, every adult being able to stand as a candidate, a secret ballot, regular elections, a choice of political parties and freedom of speech/press. There is a debate over when exactly Britain actually became a representative liberal democracy. This essay will show that by 1914 Britain was not yet fully a democracy, but well on its way.…

    • 891 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this paper, I intend to analyse the extent to which the current Labour administration shows the characteristics of a presidential government. To do this, the term ‘presidential' must first be defined. A definition of a presidential government that is generally accepted by political analysts is ‘a system of government in which the powers of the president are constitutionally separate from those of the legislature.' The British system of government is parliamentary and does not match the definition of presidential. Therefore, the question must be answered by looking at the individual features of a presidential government and comparing them with aspects of the Labour administration and Tony Blair in particular. I will conclude by summarising the arguments presented.…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Assess the arguments in favor of the greater use of direct democracy in the UK.…

    • 600 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The extent to which there is a ‘democratic deficit’ in the UK can be argued to varying degrees of accuracy. A democratic deficit would be when a democratic institution, such as the UK Government or in the courts of the UK, breaks or falls short of its democratic principles in their principles. An example of democratic deficit in the UK is when In parts of London, Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham, thousands of would-be voters had to stand in line for hours only to be turned away as election volunteers locked the doors of polling stations before they had a chance to cast their ballots. However, the UK government as a whole fulfills most of its democratic principles as it allows freedom of speech, religion, assembly and the press.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Today, the two most prominent forms of government are the Parliamentary form of government, often known as the Westminster system seen in the commonwealth nations; and the Presidential form of government seen in the United States. Throughout the years, many debates have been discussed over the question of which form is better; no definitive answer has ever come forward, for the exception that they are both quite different in theory and in practice. Principally, the difference among them is the separation power seen in the Presidential system, and the coexistence of power seen in the Parliamentary system; represented chiefly by party discipline. However, more than this difference alone separates the two. Both forms of government are characterized by how their power is distributed, how laws are created and chosen, party discipline and also the responsibility of each Head of State. Each system has its own dynamic and ever-changing functionality, creating advantages and disadvantages for each system.1…

    • 1624 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The balance of evidence would suggest that Britain conforms very well to the principles of a liberal democracy. Whilst there are always points of evidence that could be used against this view, it is my view that these are outweighed by the positive evidence and examples.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How democratic Is the UK?

    • 1007 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When compared to other countries in the World, the UK is undoubtedly democratic because of the parliament which is a representative institution. This is a definitive guarantee that the voices of the people are heard throughout the government as the people’s wishes are properly represented. Due to public outcry, David Cameron’s proposal for military action to Syria was shut down in the houses of Commons. This illustrates the significance and power of parliament as it has direct control over all legislation. Parliament can vote against governmental proposals and block them, thus ensuring that they do not become self-interested or corrupt; this ensures that the UK is considerably democratic. Each person has an MP to promote and represent their personal interests, allowing them a voice in parliament.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As with every type of elections across the world there are some negative and positive elements. Amongst these is theUK as well. Elections are the principle way in which governments in the UK are formed. They therefore serve to transfer power from one government to the next.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The different forms of democratic systems are formed upon different histories. “Great Britain with an early industrial revolution and stable government developed a strong parliament that gradually became more democratic; on the other hand, France had a late industrial…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Democracy first appeared in Ancient Greek civilisations, before being wiped out entirely and not returning to western civilisations only until approximately a hundred years ago. One definition given for democracy is a political system that allows the constituents and citizens of a country the right to fairly vote and contribute to the decision of which individuals are ruling and are the governing power. Not only that but also provides citizens protection from the state1. Another definition is given by Abraham Lincoln, in which democracy is viewed as being a "government of the people, for the people, by the people”2. Democracy is often seen as a Western invention, but has now spread across to countries all across the globe, and is seen as the most advanced and fair political ruling system to date. I will be assessing whether or not democracy is the best possible political system, where its faults lie and where it can improve.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Democratic Country

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A democratic country aims to have an accountable government that serve the best interests of the people it is governing. The UK is a liberal democracy which ensures that citizens should be able to influence governmental decisions made. But how far is the UK democratic? An element of Britain's governmental system is that there is no written constitution. This means that, theoretically, the government are free to pass any legislation as long as they have the majority in parliament which could be easily achieved if the party has a large majority of seats. This means there is no safeguard for laws that can be altered or new ones that could be created. This is very undemocratic as the government therefore have too much power. The government is also in possession of other powers such as the royal prerogative that allows the prime minister to go to war without consent from parliament. An example of where this was used was the Iraq war in 2005 which was heavily resented by a large majority of the public. Even though this aspect of Britain's governmental system is undemocratic, parliament generally prevents government from taking too much power. Another way in which the UK is undemocratic is fairly similar to the reason above. As we do not have a written constitution, many of our rules are not entrenched. An example of this is the Human Rights act. Therefore, the government are free to alter these when they please which is undemocratic as, again, they government have too much power that could be abused. One example of when the Human Rights act was ignored was after the 07/05 London bombings where terror suspects civil liberties were restricted and were held in custody for longer than the permitted time. Most liberal democracies have written constitutions which ensure that conventions such as the human rights act must be complied with. A key feature of democracies is free and fair elections. In the UK our elections are typically held within 5 years of the previous election…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics