Advantages Vs. Disadvantages of representative democracy in the UK

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  • Created by: G3mma
  • Created on: 04-06-17 13:25

Advantages Vs. Disadvantages of representative democracy in the UK

Advantages

  • The elected politicians are professional and so have superior knowledge about politics than the general public
  • Representatives have clear democratic accountability which ensures a responsible government
  • The people don't have time to be continuously involved in politics which means its good that they can delegate their power to political 'professionals'

Disadvantages

  • Low turnout levels have undermined results of the elections - 2001 General Election turnout was only 59%
  • FPTP is non-proportional meaning larger parties like the Conservatives are over represented (330 seats in the 2015 General Election) whereas smaller parties, such as UKIP, are either under represented or non-proportionally represented (4 million votes for 1 seat in 2015)
  • The governments are nearly always elected with a minority of the vote - 2005-2010 Labour government was elected with only 35% of the popular vote

Evaluation

Ultimately, representative democracy in the UK is effective as it creates a strong government who is accountable to parliament (parliamentary government) as well as preventing tyranny of the majority. It also allows more informed decisions to be made on behalf of the public as many key political decisions are too complex for the public to understand.

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