3a) Define Liberal Democracy
Liberal Democracy is a form of Representative Democracy. According to the rules of a Liberal Democracy. Elections should be free and fair and the political process should be competitive. Meaning whoever wants to create a political party can create one and run for election for example the elections in Britain are free from corruption, there is an independent election commission that oversees elections and makes sure they are fair, however some people believe that voting under the first past the post system isn’t fair. The principles of a Liberal democracy says that even though It’s competitive the transfer of power should be orderly and peaceful. Also information in a liberal democracy should be freely available to the citizens of the nations. For example free press and free broadcasting is available to the people of Britain and there is no censorship of anything by the government.
Liberal democracy also states that the rights of all citizens should be protected and the power of the government is limited by either law or elected constitutions, or both in a Liberal democracy. Also a variety of beliefs, opinions and cultures are tolerated in a Liberal Democracy as long as they don’t threaten the welfare of the state. This means that people of any religion, ethnic background or race can come and stay in the UK providing they abide by the laws of the nation and aren’t a threat to the state
4a) Define direct democracy
Direct democracy is when the people make political decisions themselves instead of having to rely on an elected representative to decide their political affairs for them. This is seen as the purest form of democracy and really represents the views of the people. It avoids decisions being made by representatives that are purely in their own interest, some people may prefer Direct democracy because they feel like they can make well informed decisions and judgment’s due to the population becoming increasingly well informed and educated
5a) Apart from voting in elections and referendums, describe two ways in participating in politics
One way in which you can participate in politics other than Elections or referendums is by joining a political party. Anyone can join any political party they wish to join. For the conservative party It costs £5 a year if you’re under 23 £25 a year If you’re aged 23 or over. As a member of a political party you get special voting rights such as choosing who represents the party in local, general and European elections and you can also take part in decision making at a local level and you can also meet MP’s, local officials and attend party conferences
Another way you can participate in politics is by donating funds to the party of your choice. The advantages of this are that the party you are donating money to will have ore funds to use in their electoral campaign when election season comes around and this could lead to them winning the election. Should the party you donated money to win the election it can give u a satisfactory feeling that you helped them gain power.