Referendums and Pressure Groups in the UK.

by thekatyofkingsgmailcom (student)

To what extent should referendums be used more widely in the UK?

Referendums are a form of direct democracy which allows the electorate to vote for or against a singular issue. The most recent referendum was in 2014 for Scottish independence in which the outcome was no.

Referendums can offer a clear answer to a political dead lock as well as influence politicians as to what the people desire such as the 1975 referendum on leaving the European Economic Community. This helps to renew mandate due to the answers given. They increase turn out with the 2014 Scottish referendum having a 90% turn out. This eliminates protest or tactical voting as it is a clear issue which is not on party policy. This direct democracy allows for constitutional or moral issues which make the electorate feel more involved. The participation on controversial issues allows for more people to want to get involved.

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Alternatively, referendums undermine our representative government. Former prime minister Attlee (1945-51) said referendums are “devices alien to our tradition” and “instruments of demogues and dictators” in which referendums are able to manipulate the electorate. The main example of this, is under Hitler’s reign to which he used referendums (phrased ambiguously) to justify the legislation he was passing. With all political apathy, if you increase the amount of referendums, people might not see a difference ergo political increases. The government has no legal obligation to do what the outcome is. This defeats the purpose of calling it direct democracy. Similarly in ...

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In conclusion, the UK should not use more referendums as the government has no legal obligation to do the outcome. Therefore, I think referendums should be saved for moral or urgent decisions in order to keep participation high and apathy low.

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Explain the term Pressure groups

A pressure group is a collective who aim to raise awareness about a specific issue the government may not prioritise. Green Peace a charity to help the environment and prevent global warming working with wildlife and preservation of the Earth to raise awareness of the damage of human beings on the world) and Amnesty International (a charity that uses social media such as “twitter” to raise awareness on crimes against human rights internationally and are well known) are examples of a pressure group. Pressure groups can’t form a government; they can only influence political parties. They also don’t have a mandate or a lot of policies compared to political parties. Although they are similar to political parties, they have a lot less power. It is hard to distinguish between them as they both want change from the government. They’re important as they highlight what the public is passionate about in our growing society. They also help expose what the government is or is not doing towards a specific issue which can lead to change with protests and demonstrations such as the riots in London about university fees.

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