democracy

democracy. In Britain, the transition from oligarchy to democracy was piecemeal. The civil wars and Glorious Revolution of the 17th cent. confirmed the supremacy of Parliament, but an unreformed electoral system restricted effective participation to a small minority. What public opinion existed could be expressed only spasmodically, by riots or petitioning. The proliferation of newspapers in the 18th cent. and the publication of parliamentary debates after 1770 widened the scope of opinion, but not until the Great Reform Act of 1832 was the system itself substantially modified, with the introduction of a standard franchise, and the grant of representation to great towns like Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds, and Wolverhampton. Further extensions of the franchise in 1867 and 1884 gave most adult males the vote (though excluding many lodgers), secret ballot in 1872 reduced the influence of the gentry, and the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883 curtailed bribery. Two further reforms of 1918 and 1928 gave the vote to women, and the voting age was reduced to 18 by an Act of 1969.

Democracy affords voters the opportunity to change their government, but the extent to which the opinions of ordinary people are effective in other matters remains a subject of debate, and it is arguable that specific interest groups, or lobbies, carry more weight than the casting of a vote (often for a losing candidate) once every four or five years. There was concern that the proportion of people voting at the general election of 2001 was low, suggesting somewhat desultory interest, and the proposal for proportional representation was once more urged as a means of making every vote of significance. In local government, where the influence of the individual might be expected to be greatest, the effect has been reduced by powerful strides towards centralized decision-making, and the domination of many councils by one party. For many people the main experience of democracy in action is being overruled while taking part in some local protest. Participatory democracy, accepted in principle by almost everybody, is not easy to practise in a a large country, where issues are many and complex. On a larger scale, there is a tension between the move towards devolution, to make government seem less remote, and the desire of some to see more decisions taken by the European Community, which has the reverse effect.

J. A. Cannon