How Democratic is the UK?

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How Democratic is the UK?

Democracy is a difficult notion to define, but as a generalisation and an accepted definition it is the people's right to choose, and the right to say how the country is run. Democracy falls into numerous categories and comes in many different forms. When power is in the hands of the population as a whole and political decisions are made themselves, this is known as direct democracy, this style of democracy stems from the Athenian system. A Present day example of a direct democracy in the UK is a referendum. Another type is a representative democracy; in this case citizens will elect representatives to make decisions for them and the responsibility is handed over to the representative to make decisions for the country. Liberal democracy's are today known as representative democracy's and the representatives are accountable to the electorate.

The UK is a parliamentary democracy, the government and representatives are intermingled meaning that the UK does not have separation of powers, meaning that the executive, legislative and judicial courts all work together unlike the American Presidential system which could create a lack in communication.

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