Case for Democratic Reform

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The Case for Democratic Reform

There have been some calls for democratic reform in the UK, as institutions may not represent the public to the best of their ability.

Democratic deficit

Democratic Deficit is the belief that democracy is not working as intended and is failing to ensure sufficient accountability and legitimacy.
In the case of the UK, this refers to problems with representative democracy in practice.

Example case: low voter turn out

UK election turnout fell after 1997 (although has started rising again).
Election turnout is incredibly low in elections other than general elections, such as European Parliament elections and local elections- 35.6% in the 2014 EU parliament election.

Example case: The voting system

FPTP creates a two-party system. Parties with no large, country-wide base find it hard to gain seats.
The two main parties can win less than 40% of the vote but win a majority of seats.
FPTP creates ‘safe’ seats, where one party is almost certain to win. Opposition voters may feel their interests are unrepresented.
In votes with many candidates, the popular vote may split, and a candidate with a low vote may win.
- In Belfast South in 2015, the winning candidate had 24.5% of the vote.

Example case: Institutions

The House of Lords has a mostly unelected membership. Some peers are hereditary peers, and inherited their title. The house doesn’t share many of the characteristics as the UK public, and costs taxpayers money.
The Supreme Court is another unelected institution with power to challenge laws.

Example case: The EU

EU regulations are binding and member states don’t get to pick and choose the ones they want to obey
For example, free movement of labour means that governments can’t restrict immigration from the EU.
There have been several movements across Europe to leave the European Union as a result.
- Accordingly, the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 (Brexit).

Types of Democratic Reform

There are several types of proposed reform which address different problems of UK democracy.

Electoral reform

Some believe it is time to change the voting system, for example away from First Past the Post to the Alternative Vote system.

House of Lords Reform

Some people want to reform the House of Lords because it is not elected, and so not representative of the people, but has an important say in legislation passed.
The Liberal Democrats have proposed introducing an elected second chamber (for example, a senate).

Online voting

Currently, voting in UK elections involves the time and money of setting up polling stations and providing physical resources.
Online voting from phones and computers could reduce these costs.
- As well as this, voters may find it difficult to turn up to polling stations, especially if they cannot take time off work.
- Online voting is more likely to engage with younger voters and people too busy to vote - so might increase election turnout.

Compulsory voting

Having voting as a legal duty, and fining people for not voting is a way of increasing turnout, making election results more representative of the entire electorate.
- In Australia, compulsory voting exists, and turnout is usually around 95% at elections

Lowering the voting age

Many argue that 16-18-year-olds are citizens that should have parliamentary representation.
In Scotland, legislation was passed in 2015 to allow 16-year-olds to vote in Scottish elections.
- 16-year-olds were allowed to vote in the 2014 Independence Referendum.

The Case Against Reform

There are several reasons to oppose electoral reform. There are many institutions that are able to hold politicians to account, and so there may not be a pressing need for reform.

Importance of pressure groups

Pressure groups allow the representation of minority interests and scrutinise the government.
Pressure groups inform the public of key issues, and engage the public in politics.

No demand for major reform

Changes to the voting system have been rejected - major House of Lords reform was rejected in 2012 by the coalition government, and in 2011 the public voted against AV.