Does the UK suffer from Democratic Deficit? First of all it can be said that the UK does suffer from 'Democratic Deficit', due to its unelected institutions, such as the House of Lords. The second chamber has the power to delay the process of passing policies. However some argue that the House of Lords is undemocratic as its members are not elected, therefore they are not representing the views of the public. The house of lords is mainly made up of life peers with expertise in certain areas, Usually normal people with jobs like doctors. Also, the UK's voting system could be considered as 'undemocratic'. This is because people argue that FPTP results in unequal value of votes. reasons for this is the fact that it takes the average Liberal Democrat MP around 115 000 votes to be elected, whereas, the average Labour or Conservative MP is elected with only 35 000 votes as they are the 2 main parties.
Furthermore, another factor that suggests the UK is suffering from 'Democratic deficit' is its falling political participation. Election turnouts have been generally decreasing in recent times, for example in 1979 turnout was 76%, but in 2015 turnout was only 66.1%. This shows the political parties are not representing everyone and are not gaining supporters meaning people will not vote at all.On the other hand, there is indication that the UK is not in 'Democratic deficit'. One of the reasons being that pressure group membership is rapidly increasing. The RSPB has more membership than all 3 major parties put together and are standing up for what they believe in in ways to get acknowledgement. Another reason is partisan dealignment, this links to voter turnout as people do not vote due to not caring about politics but also being uneducated in the area. It shows that political parties are not representative to the younger generation and the government do not target the younger people with an education on the topics.
There are plans to reform the House of Lords to make it more democratic. In the future there is the possibility that members of the House of Lords will be elected therefore they will be representing the public. In conclusion, it is clear that the UK does suffer from certain aspects of democratic deficit such as unelected institutions, unfair voting system and a declining election turnout. But it shouldn't be forgotten that the UK has also other redeeming democratic features for instance increasing pressure group membership and devolution.
Wednesday 14 October 2015
Wednesday 7 October 2015
Would a change in the voting system enhance our democracy?
Currently, in the UK we use the first past the post voting system. This system works by votes taking place in constituencies that elect a single MP each. Voters put a cross on a ballot paper next to their favoured candidate and the candidate with the most votes in the constituency wins. All other votes count for nothing.
The current voting system is the worst way to create a representative democracy. Not everyone's voices are heard and people believe that their vote counts for nothing and don't bother participating in general elections. Furthermore, this makes the voting system more inaccurate still as people who do have an opinion aren't voicing but they are unaware of how much impact their vote could make on this system, hence why this system doesn't represent the British people at all.
I believe changing the voting system would enhance our democracy massively. A form of direct democracy would make the people feel like they are being listened too, like they have a say and are actually involved in the politics of their country. A way of voting that doesn't involve untrustworthy politicians that try and get votes based on broken promises. For example, a referendum is a good form of direct democracy that asks the public their opinion on an issue giving a clear yes or no answer. This targets the people, gets them talking about the issue amongst themselves and forms excitement so people of all ages feel involved and opinions can be discussed. It saves the lies and broken promises and people would have a clear understanding on what is being discussed.
I also believe changing the voting system will also increase the interpretation of what politics actually is amongst the younger and some older generations. I believe this can only be done through a direct democracy as it gets people talking and people themselves are more involved and want to know what's going on in the political world, it would benefit so many more people.
Overall, changing the voting system would enhance democracy massively as votes count for nothing in the current system. For example, despite UKIP being the party with the third highest amount of votes in the 2015 general election they only gained one seat in one constituency which doesn't make much sense. People will feel like their votes counts with a different system as statistics show that only 66.1% of the public voted in the most recent election.
The current voting system is the worst way to create a representative democracy. Not everyone's voices are heard and people believe that their vote counts for nothing and don't bother participating in general elections. Furthermore, this makes the voting system more inaccurate still as people who do have an opinion aren't voicing but they are unaware of how much impact their vote could make on this system, hence why this system doesn't represent the British people at all.
I believe changing the voting system would enhance our democracy massively. A form of direct democracy would make the people feel like they are being listened too, like they have a say and are actually involved in the politics of their country. A way of voting that doesn't involve untrustworthy politicians that try and get votes based on broken promises. For example, a referendum is a good form of direct democracy that asks the public their opinion on an issue giving a clear yes or no answer. This targets the people, gets them talking about the issue amongst themselves and forms excitement so people of all ages feel involved and opinions can be discussed. It saves the lies and broken promises and people would have a clear understanding on what is being discussed.
I also believe changing the voting system will also increase the interpretation of what politics actually is amongst the younger and some older generations. I believe this can only be done through a direct democracy as it gets people talking and people themselves are more involved and want to know what's going on in the political world, it would benefit so many more people.
Overall, changing the voting system would enhance democracy massively as votes count for nothing in the current system. For example, despite UKIP being the party with the third highest amount of votes in the 2015 general election they only gained one seat in one constituency which doesn't make much sense. People will feel like their votes counts with a different system as statistics show that only 66.1% of the public voted in the most recent election.
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