1. -To under stand
what democracy
HOW DEMOCRATIC IS is
-To realise the
dif ferent aspects
THE UK? of democracy
-To debate
whether or not
the UK is
democratic

2. WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?
 A system of government by the whole population or
all the eligible members of a state, typically through
elected representatives.
 Demos – people; kratos – power.
 “For the people”.

3. IN TERMS OF UK
 Signs of democracy in UK include:
 Voting,
 Members from several parties,
 Leader of party is PM.
 House of Commons elected.

4. UK CONTINUED
 On the other hand:
 First-past-the-post and minority rule,
 Coalitions,
 Low/dropping political participation,
 Unelected power,
 Minority parties (theoretically) redundant

5. A GREY AREA
 Pressure groups
 Help get opinions heard
 Increase participation
 Enhance quality of democracy
 Influence the government
 Work against the public interest
 Social immobilisation
 Intense claims of injustice
 Large-scale demonstrations often cause conflict
“Good”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67FHpk3zWIQ
“Bad”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYd9qbRz2fc

6. A KEY ASPECT
 The decline in political participation, including
protests, running for local MP and public speeches.
 Specifically voting; why has voter turnout dropped?
 Partisan dealignment
 No political education
 All parties for the same thing
 Change in ideologies
 What could be done about this?

7. ANOTHER ONE…
 The UK‟s voting system, First-past-the-post.
 Incredibly flawed and succumbs to majority rule
 Ends in a two-party system, just like ours.
 Here is a video which explains both the system and
flaws very well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo

8. MINI-DEBATE
 One “team” is supporting the fact that UK is
democratic - the other is opposing it.

9. DIRECT AND REPRESENTATIVE
 Direct:
 Direct voting from the people
 Best possible representation of the people (theoretically)
 Constant referendums
 Representative
 MP‟s vote on the constituency‟s behalf
 MP more suited than individuals
 MP not necessarily representing their people

10. MINI-DEBATE!
 One side believes direct democracy is the better
option for the UK – the other side believes
representative.

11. PERSPECTIVES OF DEMOCRACY
 Protective:
 Pessimistic towards politics
 “A necessary evil to protect the freedoms that are central to
what democracy delivers”
 „Don‟t expect too much‟
 Developmental:
 Ambition for politics
 Collective decision making is the true expression of democratic
spirit and the point of democratic citizenship.
 „Disengagement is a problem‟

12. THE 2012 HANSARD SURVEY
 Their research revealed:
 „This year is the first that lass than 50% of the population are
certain to vote.‟
 „The amount of which claim to be reasonably knowledgeable
about politics is as low as 39%.‟
 „Three out of ten people believe Parliament encourages public
involvement‟
 „One in four think the Government works well.‟
 „4% of people can recall being involved in political action.
 „6% have taken part in online political engagement‟
 „Half of the country‟s citizens do nothing but vote.‟

13. HOW TO HELP IT
 Protective perspective:
 Protective for individual freedom
 No large-scale citizen participation, just enough to grant
legitimacy
 Devise interventions which restore political faith
 Developmental perspective:
 Sustainable democracy requires active engagement of citizens
 Engagement will protect their freedom
 Also lead to higher expression of citizenship

14. MINI-DEBATE!
 One side thinks the protective perspective is the
better for the UK to increase democracy - the other
side thinks developmental.

15. QUESTIONS TO RECAP
 What is a democracy?
 What makes the UK democratic?
 What makes the UK un-democratic?
 What are the two perspectives of democracy?
 What is the main contrast between them?

16. THE HOMEWORK
 Around 2 sides
 “How democratic is the UK?”
 In for next Tuesday please!