Has The Eu Undermined Uk Democracy? (politics A Level)

The EU undermined democracy in the UK . Analyse and evaluate this statement. (25 marks)

Introduction

1. The question of whether the EU has undermined UK democracy was central to the debate over whether the UK should leave the EU (a.k.a. Brexit), which dominated political life in the UK. Those that wanted to leave the EU, believed that the EU should not be allowed to impose any laws onto the UK without the consent of the British people and that the UK parliament, democratically elected by the UK electorate, should make all the laws that affected the British people. The essay will argue that being part of the EU has somewhat, through far from totally, undermined UK democracy. However, giving up some democratic power, as part of being in the EU, is a price worth paying for influencing EU decisions that affect the UK whether the UK is in or out of the EU and for a healthy economy that comes from being a member of the EU`s single market.

Arguments

Being part of the EU has, to an extent, undermined the ability for the UK s democracy to make all the decisions it wants. The UK has to accept EU laws that it s democratically elected leaders and the electorate do not agree with. For instance, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) introduced a ruling giving some prisoners the right to a vote, despite then UK Prime Minister David Cameron disagreeing. Another example is that the UK cannot prevent the free movement of people from European Union countries, as part of its membership of the EU. This is despite public opinion polls suggesting that the majority of the UK public does not support the free movement of people from the EU to the UK. Moreover, EU laws are introduced by unelected leaders that are unaccountable to the British electorate and, indeed, the electorate of any European country.

However, it is not true that the EU has totally undermined UK democracy. The UK is able to opt-out of some key EU policies (such as the Eurozone) that it s democratically elected representatives do not want to be a part of and many of the EU laws imposed on the UK would likely have been implemented by the UK Government anyway. UK Government and democratically elected UK representatives to the EU Parliament have a vital role in agreeing to EU law. And, most of the laws, policies and spending priorities that concern the British electorate are legislated and decided by the UK Parliament, not by the EU. Aside from EU immigration, a lot of the issues that the UK electorate are concerned about (such as the NHS, schools and the economy) are primarily shaped by the UK Parliament. So, it is not true that the EU has totally undermined UK democracy.

Furthermore, by sharing some of its power with the EU, the UK is part of a single market that supports trade, UK businesses and economic growth. A healthy economy that provides jobs and opportunity is always an important issue for the UK electorate, as opinion polls would demonstrate. The majority of economists and experts in business believe that the UK is better off inside the EU and its single market. So, in exchange for giving up some democratic power, it has enhanced the UK s ability to provide good economic conditions for it s people. So, perhaps, undermining some of Britain s economic power is a price worth paying for the healthy economy that the British people want and the UK gets as being part of the EU single market and free trade area. In addition to this, being a member of the EU gives the UK a seat at the table in the Council of Ministers and representatives at the European Parliament. This means that being inside the EU gives the UK some influence on the EU s decisions that would affect the UK, whether or not the UK is a member of the EU. As Europe is the UK s biggest trading partner, the EU s decisions over trade will affect the UK, even when the UK has left the European Union.

Conclusion:

It is true that the EU has somewhat undermined UK democracy and that the UK public does not have control over some of the laws imposed on them as part of their membership of the EU. However, UK democracy has not been totally undermined by the EU. Democratically elected UK politicians still have the power over most of the issues that the UK electorate care about, the UK can opt-out of some EU policies it does not like and the democratically elected European Parliament, and national governments (including representatives from the UK) have to agree policy and laws introduced by the unelected European Commission. Moreover, giving up some of the UK s democratic power is arguably a price to pay for a healthy economy and at least a say over trade, the single market and EU policies that affect the British people.

Clearly, a slim majority of the British electorate decided that they would prefer to leave the EU and for the British Parliament to have full democratic power over all decisions, even at the expense of the UK`s ability to trade freely with the European Union. It remains to be seen whether the UK electorate will continue to think that leaving the EU, and having the power to make decisions that previously were made by European un ion institutions, was worth the disruption to Britain s trading arrangement with the EU.