Democracy?

 

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"It is not surprising that more and more people are coming to the conclusion that the ballot box is no longer an instrument that will secure political solutions... They can see that the parliamentary democracy we boast of is becoming a sham."
- Tony Benn

"If you have a sense of purpose and a sense of direction, I believe people will follow you. Democracy isn't just about deducing what the people want. Democracy is leading the people as well." - Margaret Thatcher

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”― Winston S. Churchill

“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.”― Bertrand Russell

“Two cheers for democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism.”— E.M. Forster

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." - H.L. Mencken

A new UK Prime Minister has just been announced. Rishi Sunak is the fifth prime minister in six years, the first of colour and the first who is Hindu. He won the leadership race after 193 MPs publicly declared their backing and after Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson dropped out. Let's hope that he will bring a period of much-needed stability.

The Tories have been in power for 12 years, following the General Election in May 2010. Many, including myself, believe that the only truly democratic way forward is to have another general election, but this seems unlikely to happen. 

Writing prompts:

• Look at the quotations above then write for six minutes without stopping about 'democracy.'
• Write about a time when a decision was made for you over which you had no control. What happened and how did it make you feel?
  
• If you were Prime Minister, what would be your priorities? Make a list of all the things you would do.