How far was Britain a democracy by 1918?

In this essay I will assess the outcomes of Additional Member system, First Past the Post system and the Closed Party List system. The F-P-T-P system is used to elect the members of House of Commons and local government in England and Wales. Voters select candidates, and do so by marking his or her name with an ‘X’ on the ballot paper. This reflects the principle of ‘one person, one vote’. The Additional Members system is used in Scottish parliament, Welsh assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly and Greater London assembly. It is a mixed system made up of F-P-T-P and party-list elements. The Regional party list (or the closed party list) is used to elect the

Also, voters and politicians now nominated candidates, rather than the political party leaders in Congress. This and other events led to a more democratic society.

Firstly the House of Lords reform where the voting rights of most hereditary peers was abolished. This makes the UK less undemocratic rather then more democratic. This is due to the fact that the House of Lords as a whole is an unelected chamber and therefore undemocratic, however by removing the voting rights of some

Another problem with the voting system was the lack of a private vote. Employers could influence the way their employees voted by threatening to punish them if they failed to vote for their preffered candidate. This problem was fixed in 1872, when William Gladstone's government passed the Ballot Act which guaranteed a secret system of voting. Although the immediate results of the reform act were not earth shattering, the country had taken, as Lord Derby said, "a leap in the dark." Strikes, union advances, and labor organization were powerful forces for change in the final years of the century. William Gladstone was elected as Prime Minister of England for the second time in 1880 and the most important legislative action that took place during his second ministry was the Reform Act of 1884. The reform act was rejected the first time it was presented to the House of Lords, but accepted the second time because it was accompanied by a redistribution act, which had the following implications. "(i) seventy-nine towns with populations smaller than 15,000 lost their right to elect an MP; (ii) thirty-six with populations between 15,000 and 50,000 lost one of their MPs and became single member constituencies; (iii) towns with populations between 50,000 and 165,000 were given two seats; (iv) larger towns and the country constituencies were divided into single member constituencies" (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PR1885.htm). The actual Reform Act of 1884

What did the Democracy in America between the years of 1815-1840 consist of? Democracy was associated with the abolition of the property requirement for a person to vote. Blacks, however, were still considered as

For some British thinkers, the word “Democracy” was directly used for referring to the “House of Commons” unlike in the early American Revolution where the word “Democracy” was referred to as the greater equality inspired by the struggle for independence. Democracy did not exist in the colonies before the Revolution because political status was directly related to wealth. Special qualifications were supposed to be met in order to be eligible to vote or to be sitting in an assembly.

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

Democratic ideals have proven elusive throughout history, and are oftentimes only gained through bloodshed, as shown by the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. While some opposed social reform for fear of tearing down entire social structures (G) antebellum reformers were still able to push for, if not fully gain, many democratic ideals between John Quincy Adams’ election and 1850, especially with suffrage (I), abolition (C), and with education (A and E).

The Acts impact on political power in Aristocracy was that it increased the prestige and power of the House of Commons relative to the House of Lords, especially as it was more representative to the people. However aristocracy still retained its overall domination of politics even if its extent had been decreased somewhat. Also with removing many hard-to-control urban areas from county constituencies the domination of aristocracy was further cemented resulting in the system being very undemocratic. For the middle class as a result of the Act, more men became MP’s for new urban and industrial constituencies and it made the urban middle classes more politically powerful and influential than ever before.

Democracy is first stated in the chapter by Hofstadter, democracy is evil according to our founding fathers. Men are selfish and argumentative. Hofstadter says, “Calvinistic sense of humor, evil and damnation.” Basically saying that our democracy is bound to fail. It also has been said that the most seen dangers rest in the democratic parts of America’s constitution. Our founding fathers believed that democracy could potentially be the root problem in our country. During the time period democracy wasn’t seen as a political party that brought progression to our country and didn’t last very long. Elbridge

Elections in the past are very similar to elections in the modern world. Parenti even stated that “Elections were contested by candidates who were either wealthy themselves or were bankrolled by wealthy backers” (Parenti 52). Of course, in order to win these elections, candidates often used bribery. He continues by stating that in order for one to increase their chances of winning is by

Democracy comes from the Greek words “demos” meaning “people” and “kratia” meaning “power or rule”. Essentially “democracy” means “rule of the people”. Cleisthenes took Solon’s reforms even further and reorganised the Boule (legislative council) to ensure that it was represented by all sections of society and not just the aristocracy. The popular assembly consisted of all free male citizens who voted on laws proposed by the Boule. Eventually, citizens would be paid to attend the assembly and to serve in public office. This would ensure that the poorer citizens would also be able to

Democracy in the United States became prominent in the early to mid 19th century. Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was inaugurated in 1829 and was best known as the person who mainstreamed democracy in America. Because he came from a humble background, he was the “genuine common man.” (Foner, pg. 303) He claimed he recognized the needs of the people and spoke on behalf of the majority [farmers, laborers]. However, critics of Jackson and democracy called him “King Andrew I” because of his apparent abuse of presidential power [vetoing]. These critics believed he favored the majority so much that it violated the U.S. constitution, and they stated he was straying too far away from the plan originally set for the

     A democracy is a system of government controlled by the people, not by one certain group or individual. In the Declaration of Independence it states that “all men are created equal,” an idea which leads to the concept that all citizens should have the same rights, responsibilities, and influence in the governing of their country. In writing the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson was trying to break his ties with the harsh and non-democratic rule of the British and begin a new, equal society and government for America.

While the United Kingdom is considered a representative democracy it is arguable to how representative it is of everyone. It is highly unlikely that you would ever find an MP is Parliament who is from a lower class background with the majority of MPs coming from the middle and upper classes. This shows a problem with the UK’s system as not everyone is getting their voices heard in this regard. While it is possible for pressure groups to get their views heard by governments, they will ensure that pressure groups do not become so powerful they steal the government's legitimacy.