Practice of democracy in the UK

The United Kingdom's (UK) present Prime Minister Theresa May came to power with a commitment through a referendum to resolve the Brexit deal properly by March 2019. But her proposal was recently rejected by 230 votes (432-202) at UK parliament. This is the largest defeat by a sitting government in the history of the UK. Most surprising is the fact that 118 members of parliament (MPs) from her own part party have voted against her proposal.

After the Brexit defeat, May survived a no-confidence vote of 325 to 306. Now she has an option to arrange cross-party discussions in an effort to resolve the withdrawal deal in parliament. She will also place an outline to the House of Commons informing it about how she plans to move forward.

Different opinions and views are staples in the UK democracy. The MPs can independently exercise their own power and they even have the right to exercise their vote against their own party. This is hardly found in many other democratic countries.

Theresa May as the PM cannot play her dominant role due to the Westminster model of democracy in the UK. This is why democracy is quite successful in the UK. Our country's aspiring political leaders can learn a lot from the UK in this area.

Md. Zillur Rahaman

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited

Lalmohan Branch, Bhola.

[email protected]