British Values: Democracy and The Rule of Law

People can choose their rulers by voting for them in elections, this is a system of government which forms a democracy. Democracy is a term used to describe citizens of a country playing a pivotal part in how their country is governed by electing representatives to form a government. If unhappy with their government, they can choose to elect other representatives by vote, therefore creating a democracy which gives the citizens a voice. The word itself comes from a Greek background meaning people (demos) and rule (kratos).

Ancient Greek Athenian leader, Cleisthenes, called democracy “rule by the people” and the Greek system of direct democracy was the first known democracy in the world and even though it lasted for only two centuries, it still made way for representative democracies all over the world today. Mahatma Ghandi campaigned to free India for a right to its own democracy from the British Empire for several decades and successfully earned India’s right to self-govern in 1947 signalling the end of the British Empire and also Martin Luther King who was a civil rights leader campaigning for civil rights for black people in the USA, where many black people were treated as second-class citizens and lacked basic democratic rights for a long time, the campaigns and movements of the 1960’s led by Martin Luther King, improved access to voting for black people and others in society. In the UK there are different types of organisation that demonstrate democracy such as sports clubs, social clubs and community centres where members can discuss and vote on important matters within the organisation such as how they are funded, administrated and safeguarded.

The UK has a representative democracy system which is called “liberal democracy” whereby people vote for government via elections choosing their candidate to represent them and make important decisions on their behalf, the government elected then comes to power and are accountable for their decisions. This form of democracy is somewhat different to direct democracy which allows people to make the decisions on how a country should be ran individually i.e. referendums on everything. The UK do use referendums but not as much as other countries and although Conservative governments haven’t typically encouraged referendums here, in 2014 the Scottish Independence referendum was granted and in 2015 the Conservative Party Manifesto committed to holding a referendum on the UKs membership of the European Union. In terms of a general election the UK uses a first-past-the-post system however it is argued this system doesn’t produce a true representation of voters, it could be easily argued that there aren’t any ‘perfect democracies’ however it could be more seriously argued that some societies are more democratic than others.

The Rule of Law ensures that countries are governed by law (as oppose to the idea of having arbitrary decisions being made by individual government officials) and that the law applies to everyone and that no one is above or below the law. Government ministers must act in accordance with the law when making important decisions regarding legislation and laws must also be transparent in process and accessible to allow people to alter their behaviours i.e. the national speed limit. Courts can then administer law and pass judgement on a case whilst ensuring the law is applied correctly and the rule of law is upheld. Some would argue that the rule of law is pointless when fundamental human rights are not considered and the rule of law without human rights could still uphold things such as slavery. 

The Equality Act 2010 is a law that protects people from discrimination in different areas of society based on their age, gender, race, religious belief, pregnancy, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation, and disability. In the workplace the acts purpose puts a responsibility on employers to be proactive in making adjustments for people where necessary and prevents unfair treatment to employees based on anything considered as discrimination, this applies to companies in the both public and private sector but there are some exemptions. Where employees feel they have been treated unfairly and discriminated against they can challenge their employer through this act.

There are 5 types of sentencing that can be passed in UK courts for breaking the law it is possible to receive discharge either absolute or conditional usually based on circumstance however there are 4 immediately punishable sentences. ‘Fine and compensation’ the most common sentence in UK law where an offender must pay a fine and/or compensation to a victim. ‘Disqualification from driving and penalty points’ the court can disqualify an offender from driving or issue them with penalty points and there is no requirement for disqualification that an offence must relate to a motor vehicle. ‘A community sentence’ usually compiles of unpaid work, electronic tagging, probation meetings and a rehabilitation programme/course. Finally, when an offence is so serious that none of the other sentences are suitable, the court can hand down a ‘prison sentence’ so that the public can be protected from the offender.

In conclusion, democracy and the power of law - are two main british values. They are important both for government and society.They are fundemantal things that have helped to create the UK as we see it now-a-day. Without the rule of any law crime rates would soar and there would be an increased risk of safety to people, animals and property which would cause an unbearable strain on many organisations and society. Without “liberal democracy”  there weren't much freedom for people from different nationalities, genders etc; there weren't life which the majority want to live.