Parliamentary life and democracy in 21st century Britain.

Abstract

Government for the people" is the fundamental principle of modern democracy, and Britain claims to be a democracy, and has in the past, if not the present, seen itself as a model for other countries to emulate. Thus, it is quite interesting to see how British politicians openly criticize other countries for not embracing western democracy, yet when it comes to turning the focus on their own government they are strangely silent. The reason for this silence is that parliamentary democracy is seen to be concealing the location of real power in Britain. Further, the extent to which the ordinary person is properly involved in the politics of a democracy such as Britain is a matter of considerable debate. Therefore, this work estimates the health of democracy in Britain, looks at how Britain is functioning as a democracy in the beginning of the new century, and argues that although Britain has a democracy, it is not strong enough to be able do defend itself against all criticism and opposition.