The Effects of Political Parties on a Democracy

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The Effects of Political Parties on a Democracy

There are indeed several aspects in the composition of political

parties that threaten democracy in the UK, whilst other aspects may

promote democracy. Careful analysis must be done in order to establish

to what extent either is true.

On the one hand, it may be argued that parties in fact promote

democracy for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they assist the

electorate by offering them a coherent choice, allowing people to vote

democratically. Rather than the electorate having to choose between

several members of each party, and having to place votes for central

government subsequent to placing local constituency votes, voting is

made simple and straightforward. Voters have merely a choice between

separate parties, and beside each party is one pre-appointed MP

Representative. Furthermore, by engaging in extensive and vigorous

campaigns before elections, and thereby holding conferences; rallies

and distributing party manifestos, parties facilitate the electorate

to make educated decisions on polling day. This further ensures

democratic voting, as it not only assists the voters to vote for those

who they realise they most identify with ideologically, but party

campaigning also gets more of the public involved, ensuring a higher

turn out at the polls. Rather than a government elected by only 40% of

the electorate, which would establish poor roots for the democracy of

that government, election campaigns get more, and a wider range of the

electorate actively involved, ensuring higher turnouts at the polls,

and thus a higher standard of democracy.

Parties are also trying to encourage mor...

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...parties have shown themselves to

be adapting their policies, parties often water down these new ideas

to fit their ideological framework. They often avoid radical policy

change for the sake of political safety. This threatens democracy as

it narrows the scope for proper political debate on key issues.

In conclusion, although it can be argued that political parties are

indeed promoting democracy through several factors of their

composition, it is evident that there is still much room for

improvement. Perhaps stronger unity and communication between party

leaders and members or even electoral reform could be the next step.

Either way, it is clear that parties must re-evaluate their respective

standards of democracy, and ensure that steps are taken to raise these

levels, and thereby increase overall democracy in the UK.

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