EXPLAIN THREE CRITICISMS OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY [10
MARKS]
Representative democracy has been criticised because our representatives can be too much influenced by both elitist pressure groups and the dictates of party whips ensuring that the interests of constituents are not fully represented. This, in turn, creates political apathy and a distrust of “village Westminster”, while others argue that representative democracy does not provide all groups in society with equal representation.
Critics of representative democracy, such as Russell Brand, argue that our representatives are too disengaged from the public to represent our views effectively. Thus, MPs too often support the party whip rather than prioritizing the concerns of their constituents, while elitist pressure groups, such as the Conservative Friends of Israel wield disproportionate influence over MPs. The “cab for hire” scandal even showed how corrupt MPs have even demanded money for their services in defiance of the principles of how a representative democracy should operate.
The vast majority of politicians are still male, middle class and middle aged and this further suggests that, as it now operates, representative democracy does not sufficiently represent contemporary multi-cultural Britain. The declining number of young people who are prepared to vote further illustrates this problem, while one could argue, too, that, as there are only three women in the Cabinet, parliament does not provide fair gender representation either. The elitist nature of the cabinet with the majority having been educated at independent schools and Oxbridge, while many of Cameron’s key advisers have been likened to an “Eton College” cabal also, it has been suggested, distances too many of our representatives from the