Democracy and participation (Complete And Verified Study material) (7pages) LEARNEXAMS

Direct democracy - All individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf. • No elections as citizens represent themselves • Originated in ancient Athens, where adult male citizens had the right to take part in decision-making at public meetings • An example of direct democracy is a referendum •A referendum is a direct vote on a single issue, usually requiring a response to a straight yes/no question •The UK has had only three nationwide referendums: – On Britain’s membership of the European Economic Community (or European Union) in 1975 and 2016 – On whether to change the system of voting for the Westminster Parliament in 2011 •Social media has enabled people to support e-petitions,which allow people to register a viewpoint online. • 100,000 signatures will trigger a debate in parliament – September 2020: Review the decision to use previous data to calculate exam grades (148,000 signatures and a government response) – The Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU e-petition gained 6.1 million signatures Advantages: •gives equal weight to all votes,unlike a representative system where the varying sizes of constituencies mean that votes do not all have equal value •encourages popular participation in politics by expecting people to take their duties as citizens seriously •removes the need f