UK democracy essay

legitimate process which is endorsed by the state itself. In recent UK elections 35% of citizens did not vote (BBC, accessed June 2010), suggesting a significant minority of citizens do not feel it is necessary to participate in this type of political ‘contestation.’ The recent introduction of the citizen initiative within UK politics, which is already common in the US (‘Citizens of the state,’ 2009, track 1) shows how democracy further encourages contestation. If enough citizen support can be

1997 made the UK more democratic? Constitutional reform is a process whereby the fundamental nature of the system of government is changed or where a change is proposed. In the UK this may also involve the process of codification. Since 1997 there has been many key reforms that have made UK more democratic by a large amount and sometimes not so much if at all. Firstly the House of Lords reform where the voting rights of most hereditary peers was abolished. This makes the UK less undemocratic

Settlements (ISDS), which can be viewed as a neoliberal attack on democracy, resulting in immeasurable effects on EU governments’ such as the UK’s. This mechanism is designed to protect foreign organisations investing in another country, and allows companies to claim and sue against that country if a conflict arises that will limit their profits. The ISDS lies in the foreign corporations’ favour, but not in the governments, limiting the UK and many other EU countries’ governmental authority, binding them

would be useful to a politics student as it is central to the political process. The concept of sovereignty is interrelated to democracy, a key feature of Western politics, which in some form is adopted throughout the world. Through understanding where ultimate authority resides in political institutions, the features and key principles of democracy are analysed. Furthermore, through revising sovereignty, it can be understood how it applies to non-democratic institutions

National Non-Sectarianism Referendums are not written in law, or are they set in stone or designated to time. For those who 're basing their vote on sovereignty: straightaway, I will clarify that already the United Kingdom is a sovereign state under international law. I will clarify also... that the Parliament in Westminster is the only lawmaking authority in this country. The 'EU ' is not a sovereign state and cannot rule over one. The 'EU ' only has the powers that it 's gifted under the

comparing king Lear with Edgar, two social systems, monarchy and democracy can be evaluated. Democracy pursues freedom with less government intervention. This promotes each individual to take his/her own

adequately.' Discuss (40 marks) In the UK, Parliament consists of the Monarchy, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. This has existed for centuries and has stood the test of time, in that it still exists. However a number of concerns have been raised about some of the functions and whether they function adequately enough (to a satisfactory or acceptable extent). Parliament currently carries out several functions and is the prime legislative body in the UK. It has many functions such as being

there were two main reasons why constitutions were essential. First, it offered an explanation on the structure of the government and its roles and responsibilities. Second, governments and citizens viewed a constitution as the pillar of liberal democracy. However, Heywood (2007) argues that the two

Reforming United Kingdom's Electoral System For centuries Britain has used and adapted the First Past The Post (FPTP) Electoral system. It has been developed through a growing country that is reflected in the unwritten constitution. FPTP is arranged whereby the country is split into constituencies, and any candidate (as long as he/she pays a £500 deposit) may stand to be elected. The candidate with the largest share of votes wins the seat, is elected to Parliament

To what extent do liberals support democracy (45 marks) Democracy is the ultimate political form of ideological liberalism. It refers to the ideal form of state, and is common to both classical and modern liberals. In the 19th century, liberals often saw democracy as threatening or dangerous. Political theorists such as Plato and Aristotle viewed democracy as being a system of rule at the expense of wisdom and property. The principle that the will of the majority should prevail over the minority