Should the UK use more referendums?

Using more referendums in the UK has its advantages and disadvantages, which can level out to make it a heated discussion. A referendum is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.

An advantage of using more referendums in the UK is the power which will be given to the people. Referendums allow people, such as the general public to speak in what they believe in. People can express certain views in a specific issue which can really change a issue within the United Kingdom. This can be seen as really good for the country, if the general public feel more involved in politics and what has to be said within the county, the laws and decisions will be less tough to please the whole public when it comes to the final decision making.

There are obvious ways in which using Referendums in this country can be a disadvantage. The wording or language used can be biased towards one side. The question for which is ahead of the referendum has to be neither for or against and the wording has to be accurate, which can be difficult. If it comes to not being accurate, this could trouble within the citizens involved within the referendum to make an impact on the decision. Another obvious thing in which can be a disadvantage for the country is the costs. Referendums to cost a lot of money. The economic state of this country isn't at its best at the moment, the country are having to make cuts, using more referendums will start to build up on the country and will lead to more and more trouble for the United kingdom. 

Using more referendums is a strong form of direct democracy. This means that citizens have a big influence on the decisions and new legislations. This is good for the people as they get a real and influential say in what they want and it can have a big impact on the country and the way it is run. 

The problem is, referendums really undermine the MP's, the people that us, the general public voted in. The people of the UK voted in the party for their district and who they want to lead in the General Election. This suggests that they agree with they agree in, so using referendums seems ridiculous if the majority say that they agree with the the leading party in which they elected in. Its completely understandable that the opposing voters for opposite parties would like to use referendums, as they can use what they wanted from the parties they agreed in to still make a impact. Referendums do not seem to work well with the job of the MPs as it shows the undermining of them. 

Although i think referendums are a good idea, I'm all for people having their say and power to the people, but there needs to be a point where there isn't to much power for the people. Leaving the job of what the MPs are supposed to be doing to them, instead of giving that power to the people which want to make huge decisions which they recently voted against. I think referendums need to be used in serious matters instead of for little matters that can be solved differently. 

Is the UK true democratic?

The  UK can be seen as democratic an non-democratic. The mixture makes it hard to see if the UK is truly democratic.

The system of  'first past the post' which is considered very outdated and many feel that there should be a rethink on a whole new voting system, in 2011 there was a referendum against the voting system, which had an outcome of 66% voted no against a change.The problem with 'first past the post' is that the bigger parties, such as Conservative and Labour are more likely to win the outright vote then smaller parties such as UKIP.

A way you could say that the country is democratic is that the UK get to vote, compared to some countries such as North Korea and China. The fact that the United Kingdom have the right to vote and chose the government in charge of the country every five years means that  the country shows part of what is said is the true meaning of democracy, Government of the people - which gives the opportunity for everyone to vote when eligible, Government by the people - meaning that the people make the important decisions and Government for the people which means whoever is representative is accountable to the people. Selecting the government in the general election every 5 years suggests that the country can be classed as democratic.

Another way you could say that the country is un-democratic is because the country creates division across the people. The parties which are mainly the most popular do not actually cover what the people in Britain want, they do not seem to cover everyone's needs which are being suggested and debated are not being listened to which means there is a division with in the country, suggesting it isn't democratic.

overall, you could say Britain are confused. They do not seem to know if they want to be democratic or not. but they way its being run at the moment seems to work. and with a few changes relating to the voting systems and the way that the parties make suggestions. Britain could be a very well structured political party. Even if they are not a true democratic country.

What happened in the recent General Election?

Some would say that the recent General Election was particularly dull. Which I completely disagree with, looking at the events which happened over the course and the build up to the day of General Election shows willing from each party and regions throughout the United Kingdom. Although you could say that the parties took their campaigning to different levels - some effect and some not quite so effective. 

Nigel Farage and his UKIP party were really showing a climax of interest across England. UKIP's main two ideologies was tackling immigration in the UK and leaving the European Union. This built up a lot of interest within the UK. Many individuals started to realise how immigration and the negative sides of the European Union effects their day to day lives. People considered UKIP as a joke of a party who was perceived racist towards immigrants who had entered the country illegally. Due to the success they had in the European elections, many expected UKIP to have a high following into the General Election. However, after the debates between party leaders leading up to the day of the General Election, many turned against UKIP when they struggled to answer and avoided many directed questions faced at them.

The recent Scottish referendum did not match up to the recent General election outcome. The Scottish Referendum suggested that Scotland did not want independence. The results of the General election suggest otherwise, the Scottish National Party who fight for national Scottish rights had 57/59 of the seats within Scotland. The Election in 2010 was filled with 41 seats taken by the Labour. In this General Election the SNP took over Scotland, dominating all the seats originally owned by Labour apart from one. 

The General Election is a clear example of the north south divide. Polls on social media shows that in the North East and North West of England would particularly struggle with living standards if The conservative party won, which they did. 

The overall outcome of the General Election lead to the Conservative Party winning with the overall amount of 331 seats. Although there was a fairly large gap between the 331 seats of the Conservative compared to the next highest Labour with 232 chairs. the voting margin was actually not that dissimilar, meaning that the results where fairly close. 

The country is wearing blue for the next 5 years.