Politics

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  • Referendums
    • Against
    • For
      • Political education: widening opportunity for political participation, referendums help create better informed, more educated and politically engaged electorate.
  • Direct democracy: gives general public direct & unmediated control over government decision making
    • For
      • Political education: widening opportunity for political participation, referendums help create better informed, more educated and politically engaged electorate.
  • Responsive government: force government to be more responsible by forcing them to listen to public opinion between elections. Allows public opinion to be expressed on a particular view.
    • Direct democracy: gives general public direct & unmediated control over government decision making
    • Reduced government power: provides check on government power - government has less control over their outcome than it does parliament.
      • Responsive government: force government to be more responsible by forcing them to listen to public opinion between elections. Allows public opinion to be expressed on a particular view.
      • Constitutional change: constitutional change should be popularly endorsed via referendums because constitutional rules affect the way the country is governed.
        • Ill informed decisions: compared to politicians, general public are ill informed, poorly educated and lacks political experience. Public interest best safe guarded by a system of 'government by politicians' rather than any form of popular 'self-government'
          • Against
        • Weakens parliament: referendums don't strengthen democracy, substitutes direct democracy for parliamentary democracy. Undermines vital principle of parliamentary sovereignty but also means that decisions not made on basis of careful deliberation and debate.
          • Irresponsible government: allows governments to absolve themselves of responsibility and hands decisions over to electorate. Governments elected to govern - should make political decisions and made publicly accountable for their decisions.
            • Strengthens government: may extend government power in a variety of ways.  Government decide whether, when and what issues to call referendum on and frame question.
              • Unreliable views: only provide a snapshot of public opinion at one point in time, Unreliable guide to the public interest.

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