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Source · Referendums and representative democracy
The UK has held referendums on devolution, the voting system, Scottish independence and EU membership. This source sets out two views.
Supporters argue that referendums strengthen democracy on questions too important to leave to MPs alone. The 1997 votes gave devolution in Scotland and Wales a clear popular mandate, and turnout in the 2014 independence referendum reached 84.6%. A direct vote settles a constitutional question in a way that one party's manifesto cannot, and it engages people who rarely vote in elections.
Critics argue that referendums can weaken representative democracy. They reduce complex questions to yes or no, and after the 2016 EU referendum MPs struggled for years to agree what the result required. Governments choose when to hold them and what to ask, often for party reasons. Turnout in the 2011 referendum on the Alternative Vote was only 42%, which raises doubts about how representative a result is. A close result can divide the country rather than settle the question.
Evaluate the view that referendums have strengthened representative democracy in the UK. In your response you must compare the different opinions in the source and consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. (30 marks)