Zusammenfassung der Ressource
(4) Supplementary features of the
UK's democratic system
- Referendums
- It has traditionally been seen to undermine
the principles of popular authority and
parliamentary authority.
- question are perceived as limited
- majority always rules
- why are they used?
- There have been increasingly complex and
controversial issues which the government
has been faced with.
- The issue of constitutional reform
encouraged the use of referendums from
1997 onwards.
- There have been ten examples of
referendums
- 1973: Northern
Ireland –
Northern Ireland
sovereignty
- 1975: UK –
Membership of the
European Community
- 1979: Scotland –
Scottish devolution
- 1979: Wales –
Welsh devolution
- 1997: Scotland –
Scottish devolution
- 1997: Wales –
Welsh devolution
- 1998: London
– Greater
London
Authority
- 1998: Northern Ireland –
Northern Ireland Belfast
Agreement
- 2011: Wales -
Welsh further
devolution
- 2011: UK – Alternative vote
- Should britain use referendums
- for
- Direct democracy
- Political education
- Responsive governement
- Reduced government power
- Constitutional changes
- Against
- I'll-informed decisions
- weakens parliament
- Irresponsible government
- Strengthens government
- Unreliable views
- Devoltion
- The creation in 1998 of the Scottish and Welsh parliament and assembly. The
good Friday agreement(1998) in northern Ireland created the parliament building
- Strengh
- It gave the constituent nation of the UK their own political
voice - preventing a English domination thought the house
of commons
- It refined representative democracy because it
allowed those nation to express their nations views
- It widerned the opportunity for political participation
strengh civic engagement and political eduction
- Weakness
- Limited power
- The English question
- Devolution has done nothing to advance representative democracy
in England, where about 84% of the UK's population lives.
- Devolution stop well short of home rule. although the power of
devolution bodies have, in some widened, major economic and
foreign policy decisions are still made at westminster and in
whitehall
- EU Parilament
- strengths
- European Parliament allows opportunity of the
uk citizens to exert popular influence within the
the EU
- Direct elections to the European Parliament were
introduced in 1979, and these are fixed-term elections
that take place every five years
- Since 1999 European Parliament elections have been
conducted on the basis of a proportional election system
that represents parties more family and gives small parties
a better chance of being elected
- Weakness
- Direct deficit
- The European Parliament is the weakest of the EU institutions, with
little policy- making influence and only limited effective control over
the European Commission. The EU therefore suffers from a
"democratic deficit"
- Rule from Brussels
- Growing EU influence over UK politics has been interpreted as a
threat to the sovereign power of parliament and thus to the
capacity of the UK to function as an independent democratic state