​A Level Politics – Direct Democracy 
In the United Kingdom, direct democracy exists. Direct democracy is a type of democracy in which citizens make decisions without having to go through representatives. It is participative and consultative. There is no separation between government and citizen in a direct democracy. Instead, the public is actively participating in the democratic process. It would be difficult for a huge modern nation state like the United Kingdom to be governed using direct democracy principles. In order to engage the public more closely in issues that directly affect them, aspects of direct democracy have been implemented into the UK's representative democracy system.

​A Level Politics -  Representative democracy's drawbacks 
Representative democracy critics contend that MPs are frequently alienated from the population and hence do not sufficiently reflect their interests in the UK. A self-perpetuating Westminster 'bubble' separates voters from their politicians, thanks to powerful pressure organisations and lobbyists, as well as the London-based media. Outside interests, such as second employment (as long as they report them), might exacerbate a conflict of interest and jeopardise an MP's capacity to completely represent their constituency. Former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, for example, became editor of the Evening Standard while still a Member of Parliament. Because it is elected by first-past-the-post, the Westminster Parliament is particularly unrepresentative (FPTP). As a result, the Conservative and Labour parties dominate the House of Commons, while minority parties like UKIP and the Greens have struggled to secure adequate representation, despite polling well. The majority of members of Parliament are still white, male, and from the middle class. Critics claim that the interests of lower-income voters are not adequately reflected. The House of Lords is unelected and so unaccountable to the public, eroding Parliament's representational function even more.

​A Level Politics – Advantages of Representative Democracy 

The fundamental benefit of representational democracy is that government is carried out by professional politicians who must be well-informed on political topics. As a result, they are more likely to make politically informed decisions than the general public, who may be driven by emotion and may not completely comprehend the complexity of a situation. A parliamentary bill, for example, will have been meticulously drafted by ministers and civil servants, debated in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and further scrutinised in committee stage, when modifications may be added. When making choices in a representative democracy, elected leaders must strike a balance between competing interests. This is critical for safeguarding the rights of all citizens, particularly minorities, and ensuring that the consequences of a decision are thoroughly considered by all members of the community. In direct democracy, on the other hand, citizens vote based on their own self-interest, without regard for the impact on others. This is more likely to promote a majoritarian form of democracy, in which minorities' rights and interests may be overlooked.

An MP's representational function.
'Your representative owes you, not only his labour, but his judgement, and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion,' Edmund Burke (1729–97) said in an address to the voters of Bristol in 1774.

 Given that Burke was an outspoken opponent of slavery and that the merchant elite of Bristol was built on the slave trade, this was a bold assertion that, if elected, Burke would act on his conscience rather than what his electors expected. These words are frequently used to describe the concepts that underpin representational democracy.
Representative democracy also includes the notion of accountability, which means that people can determine whether or not to renew their representatives' mandates in regular elections. In other words, if the public disapproves of a government's policies, it has the option of electing a new one.

​A Level Politics – Representative Democracy 
Representative democracy is predicated on the idea that elected officials should reflect all of their people' interests. As a result, MPs spend a large amount of time in their communities, attending public meetings and surgeries to listen to constituents' concerns. Politicians, on the other hand, should not just act in accordance with the wishes of their constituents. They would only be a delegate if they accomplished this. Instead, they should consider the feelings of the people they represent, as well as their party's agenda and broader understanding of a subject, before making judgments. To put it another way, representatives should act based on their best judgement rather than slavishly obeying the preferences of the voters. 


The Westminster Parliament has 650 members, all of whom are elected by their constituents on a regular basis. Devolved governments exist in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with elected mayors and local councils providing additional public representation.

​A Level Politics -Types of Democracy in UK 
The UK's current democratic systems
In this post, we examine two types of democracy in the United Kingdom: representative democracy and direct democracy. 
Democracies with representatives
The United Kingdom is a representational democracy, meaning that people choose politicians to make decisions on their behalf. In a modern democracy, there are so many intricate political decisions to be made that it would be impossible for the public to have the time and comprehension to vote on all of them. Professional politicians are responsible for gaining this level of political knowledge so that they may make educated judgments in the best interests of the entire country. 

Regular elections hold elected politicians accountable to the voters in a representative democracy. 

This indicates that the voters retain sovereignty since they decide whether or not to renew their representatives' mandates.

​A Level Politics - Participation and Democracy 

Winston Churchill famously stated in the House of Commons in 1947 that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms." Although his support for democracy may appear qualified, Churchill recognised that democracy is the best form of government accessible because it roots power in the people. This is because citizens hold their government accountable for the actions it takes on their behalf and elect the politicians they wish to represent them. Power is permanently entrenched in one individual or group in autocratic forms of governance, giving them absolute control over their people. The commencement of the United Kingdom's journey toward genuine democracy can be traced all the way back to Magna Carta (1215), and possibly even to the Anglo-Saxon witan, giving the United Kingdom a strong claim to having the world's longest democratic history. In the United States, at the height of the American Civil War in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln (1861–65) articulated the notion of democratic democracy in his Gettysburg Address, stating that "government of the people, by the people, for the people."