Thread by @CoppetainPU

@bernardjenkin on #bbcwato says the British constitution has 2 principles of democracy: representative (parliament) and direct (referendums). I wasn't aware referendums were enshrined in the British constitution

@bernardjenkin If British politics is really heading towards making direct democracy a counterbalance to Parliament ("people v MPs"), I'd have thought there ought to be rules about how that works.

For example, if direct democracy is / is to be an integral part of the constitution, then …

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1. How are referendums/people's votes established? If only by Parliament, that doesn't really do the counterbalancing trick. So something like 500,000 signatures?

2. Should there be any checks and balances to 1. above?

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For example, the government and/or parliament has a first go at accepting, amending or opposing the people's initiative? Proposing an alternative, even? Negotiations with the authors of the people's initiative?

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3. Should there be other rules, for example any amendments to important existing laws have to be put to a public vote automatically?

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Some of you will have spotted where I'm heading. Something like this👇🏽.

eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerla…
&
eda.admin.ch/dam/PRS-Web/en…

The point: if direct democracy really is part of the British constitution as @bernardjenkin claims, then surely there should be some systematic rules?

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