Is Britain a genuine democracy?

Is Britain a genuine democracy? NO. In my humble opinion Britain is far from democracy; in fact the the elections and referendums are masks of false hope and deceit protecting a false interpretation of democracy in the UK.

The main reason for angst and discomfort towards the British government and democracy in particular is the House of Lords. Around 800 people make up the House of Lords and their role is to shape, challenge and and check laws that parliament tries to pass in the House of Commons.  Thankfully the House of Lords can’t reject laws due to the primacy of the House of Commons, but they can and do make it awkward and drag out the process by checking and challenging legislation, often irrationally.

At this stage you may be questioning why this is so terrible!  Surely it’s good to thoroughly check new laws?

The House of Lords is not even elected! It is a group chosen by the Prime Minister and close cabinet colleagues (with a select few coming from opposition parties, but also by appointment from their leader).  Usually, newly appointed members of the House of Lords share the same political views as the PM of the party that has appointed them. Open your eyes!  How can Britain be a democracy whilst the public entertain one person dictating who has access to these vitally important positions. Furthermore 92 members of the House of Lords inherited their peerage as the relatives of former Lords, once again flying directly in the face of  what we believe democracy to be.

The definition of democracy is: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Note the term here “elected representatives.” Therefore, according to this definition the UK is clearly not a true democracy.