ACADEMIC | Development of Democracy In the UK

Democracy can best be described as a government system that was elected for by either the whole population or eligible members of the nation of which the governing system would have responsibility for. Looking closer at the nuances of democracy it is suggested that there are 3 types, the first of which being a consensus democracy which is where a cabinet is elected via the legislature with limited to no reference of political parties. Consensus democracy is mainly in place in countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Lebanon and Iraq. In these countries consensus is a particularly important aspect of political culture as they aim to prevent the domination of a one cultural or logistic group. The second type of democracy is constitutional democracy where politics is governed by the constitution meaning that the majority and their authority is limited legally and institutionally therefore constitutional democracy respects the rights more so of the individual and minorities. Political scientists suggest that the United States, Japan and China are examples of constitutional democracies. The last key type of democracy is deliberative. Deliberative democracy is a form of democracy where deliberation is central to all decisions and adopts ideas from consensus decision making and theories like majority rule.

An interesting idea to explore and to question is whether the United Kingdom is a democracy or not. Firstly, the system of First Past The Post is deeply flawed for many reasons, mainly that the candidate with the most votes wins however in most cases is that candidate just has the most collective votes when in reality more people voted indecisively against them. It could be considered undemocratic to have a candidate who does not truly represent everyone in their constituency. Exclusions of groups such as EU citizens living in the UK, prisoners and 16-18-year olds is evidence that the UK fails to be democratic. Consistently the government has ignored the opinions of young people and the opinion that they should be entitled to vote concerning governmental policies directly affecting them in respects to lack of educational funding and the closure of youth centres. Furthermore, despite the European Court of Justice ruling that prisoners should have the right to vote and suggested that the United Kingdom wished to suppress the voices of a subsection of society, Britain is yet to change its stance. When taking into consideration it is clear to see that the United Kingdom is far from a perfect democracy, but it is also clear to see it is not a dictatorship. 

The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 was arguably the first signal of democracy in the UK as it helped distinguish the fact that everybody including the king was subjected to the Law. The Magna Carta may have been signed to evade a political crisis which King John failed miserably at however despite being rewritten and clauses being repealed, the Magna Carta still remains one of the cornerstones of the British Constitution which sets forth the fundamental ideas which help society to function democratically. Most of the clauses of the magna carta pertained to King John’s rule and set forth fundamental values that challenged the autocracy of the king and evidence shows it was highly adaptable in later centuries. Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the United States Bill of Rights of 1791 as well as in many other constitutional documents around the world. Furthermore, remnants of the Magna Carta can be seen in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). Although most of the clauses of Magna Carta have now been repealed, the many different uses that have been made of it since the Middle Ages have shaped its meaning in the modern era, and it has become a potent, international rallying cry against unlawful, undemocratic and uncivilised abuse of power.

The next stage in developing the United Kingdom into a democratic state was in 1341 when the House of Commons met for the first time. The Commons were made up of Knights, burgesses and citizens whereas lords consisted of barons and clergy. This is the first time they deliberated apart. Despite the segregation, representatives of constituencies in the house of commons represented the country disproportionately and was remote from public interest. It was not until 1376 that the first Speaker of the House of Commons was elected.

The Civil War of 1642 saw the introduction of a constitutional monarchy by Cromwell, power hungry, become somewhat of a dictator when he established the Protectorate in 1653 after dissolving parliament due to being unhappy with parliament failing to enact his religious, social and economic reforms. Following Cromwell’s’ son’s resignation in 1659 a new parliament of 1660restored the monarchy and maintained the power they had gained in the two decades of struggles, for example the monarch could no longer enforce taxes without the express consent of parliament. In 1679 parliament passed the habeas corpus act which meant that when arrested the suspect must be produced in court and informed of what they are accused of doing. This act is critical in establishing a democratic society and is in fact expressed in the American constitution and is also a key part of the British constitution, however the latter is uncodified.

The Glorious Revolution ended the absolute power of the monarch and created a stronger constitutional monarch, but the King and upper classes remained in control therefore democracy was still not practiced in Britain. The revolution of 1688 saw the overthrow of catholic king James II who was replaced by his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, protestants. In 1689 the new rulers of England, Mary and William, accepted a bill of rights from parliament which limited the monarchy’s power and protected the right of free speech in parliament. Additionally, the bill of rights refused to allow the monarch to suspend laws, tax without parliament support or to raise an army without full consent from parliament. Amongst civilians it was an assurance that they could petition the monarch and seek resolutions for any grievances with the government. Moreover, the English bill of rights which was a formal summary of the liberties and rights deemed essential to the people, established that obscene bail, cruel and unusual punishment was strictly forbidden. The impact of the glorious revolution was that English citizens felt secure in the knowledge that they had the rule of law, a parliamentary government, individual liberties and finally a constitutional monarchy.

In the early 1800s around 5% of the population had the right to vote but it was not representative. Places such as Birmingham and Manchester lacked any representation in parliament however Dunwich with a population of 32 in 1831 was sending two representatives to parliament as there was a higher concentration of people in the upper class and these such places were called rotten boroughs. Additionally, there were nominations or pocket boroughs where a single employer dominated voter interests so therefore, they could rest in confident knowledge their candidate would win. Pocket constituencies were sometimes available for purchase with the right to choose an MP included in the sale price. If there was a contest for the constituency then the voters would have to declare their preference publicly. This way the employer could see how the public cast their vote and the public, feeling intimidated, would feel inclined to vote for their employer's candidate. Prior to 1832 it is estimated that one third of constituencies were controlled in this manner. Between 60 to 75% of constituencies were left not contested due to these circumstances.

The Great Reform Act of 1832 saw the electorate almost double and industrial cities were now given representation. However, less than one in ten adults could vote, the act also excluded nearly all workers and there was still an absence of a secret ballot. The 1832 act was successful in the sense that it eased the thirst for political leaders who desired reform however it did not end the desire for those still excluded. Reactionaries feared as those still disenfranchised had hoped that the Great Reform Act would be the bridge to real democracy. The 1832 reform act set alight the idea that the principle of representation should follow population statistics and it also saw the beginnings of modern political campaigning. Two years later in 1834 Sir Robert Peel leader of the Tory party launched the Tamworth Manifesto which was a statement regarding the new conservative reform principles which is the name the Tories were given when they were renamed by Peel in 1834. The conservatives set up clubs throughout the country to fight elections and in 1860 the Liberal Registration Association was established by Liberal MPS to oppose Tories in elections. As a result, the percentage of seats left uncontested fell below 30% so in some sense the United Kingdom was advancing towards a more democratic political society. 

Following an 1866 Reform League meeting in Hyde Park which saw clashes with the police, Gladstone articulated the idea of full male enfranchisement and echoed the sentiments of the Chartist movement. Even though Gladstone lost the premiership in 1867, the political climate of the time made his Conservative rival, Disraeli feel pressured into conceding enfranchisement to a select group of working men in urban constituencies. In turn this once again doubled the electorate to an estimated 16% of the adult population. This was followed in 1884 when Gladstone granted enfranchisement to workers in rural seats which was an influence on the fact that over a quarter of the population had the right to vote. 

It was around a similar time that the secret ballot was introduced as well as the criminalisation of corruption in elections. Polls could go on for weeks, with no limits on electoral expenditure. They had sometimes become the scenes of deplorable ‘treating’ usually giving voters drinks or meals, but also bogus jobs during the campaign or threats  including those of loss of a job, a home, or even threats of violence, depending on the way votes were cast. Such practices were parodied by Dickens in The Pickwick Papers which was a satire paper regarding the Bury St Edmunds election of 1835. In 1868 3 candidates in Bradford spent £10000 which is calculated to be worth half one million in modern currency, on what the candidates described as hiring rooms for campaigning. In 1872 parliament required that votes be cast in the ballot boxes we still use today to protect electors. When two cabinet ministers trialled the system by taking part in a school board election, it was rumoured that one had been unable to fill in the ballot paper correctly. In 1880 it was made a criminal offence to bribe voters and the practice was largely eliminated. Most politicians would have argued that this represented a democracy.  

The Representation of the People Act of 1918 saw that women over 30 who owned property were enfranchised and could legally sit in the House of Commons. Before the First World War there were never more than 15 women in the House of Commons. With under one third of its MPs female, the UK lagged most other western European states in this regard. Nevertheless, following the campaigns of the suffrage movements that gained traction in the late 19th and early 20th century it was put into force in 1928 that all men and women over the age of 21 irrespective of class or race were eligible to vote.  

In 1969 the voting age was lowered to 18 after a decade of student protests as they felt like as government policy affected them, they should have a say. Analysis of the political class and young people show evidence that the relationship grew steadily distant as membership of party youth organisations collapsed and there was a low turnout of young voters especially in the EU referendum and the 2019 General Election.                                                                                                  

Overall, democracy has taken a while to develop into what society currently deems as a functioning and fair democracy. Political scientists would suggest that despite the developments made, Britain is still yet to be a full democracy. It is easier to judge the impact of actions on democracy when analysing from a historical standpoint.