Does the Uk Fulfil the Requirements of a Representative Democracy

Does the UK meet the conditions of the main features of a representative democracy?

Full adult franchise- since 1918 women over the age of 20 were allowed to vote. In 1971 the national voting age was lowered giving people aged 18+ the right to vote.

A secret ballot- although the ballot in UK elections is supposed to be secret, it is theoretically possible to trace each vote to the voter who cast it. It is, however, illegal to do so. All ballot papers, counterfoils and related paperwork are sealed and stored securely for one year after the election. Voting being secretive ensures that there is a clear representation of what the people in our country want and who they want to vote for.

Regular elections-The date of the general election was 7 May 2015. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years.

Fair elections- although the 2015 elections were fair, the percentage of votes for each party and the number of seats given to them were in most cases not. The SNP, with 1.45 million votes, has received 56 seats. That’s 8.6% of the seats with 4.8% of the votes. The Liberal Democrats meanwhile got 2.41 million votes and 8 seats – 1.23% of the seats with 7.9% of the votes.

An effective choice of candidates- ,971 candidates stood in the United Kingdom general election of 2015

A level playing field between rival parties and candidate contesting elections-

A free and diverse media enabling a wide expression of views- The media is fairly shared between all of the parties, Ukip send out broadcasts and there is a mixture of politicians shown on the TV. People have the opportunity to learn about the candidates and learn about what they stand for on the internet, on social media, on the radio and TV.