Is the UK a representative democracy? Will it remain one?

At least Brexit got many people thinking more about how democracy works or doesn't. I'll be honest, I never gave it a lot of thought before but I found this definition and have pondered it:
1/20
"DEMOCRACY: A system of government by the WHOLE population or ALL the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives."

That got me thinking about the UK’s representative democracy. How does our Parliamentary democracy work? 2/20
I won't say too much about how we elect our representatives (MPs) in the UK. The system could be improved but it does have the merit that all seats in the House of Commons get filled, so we have a full assembly of representatives.
3/20
Now, ask yourself a question. Who does that assembly represent? Is it just the people who voted for them or is it all citizens of the UK?

I think that they must represent all of 'the people'. That includes children, citizens abroad & anyone who could not or did not vote.
4/20
Surely that must be right because the primary duty of an MP is to act in the best interests of the nation as a whole. They have a special duty to 'their constituents' too; all constituents and not just those who can and do vote. They represent all of ‘the people’
5/20
Now, I assume our representatives are there in the House of Commons with a clear understanding of their duties and the scope of their representation. They are in control and empowered to do what is in the whole nation's best interests. They represent people, not Party.
6/20
Why is it then that they collectively act as though they do not represent all UK citizens but only those who voted? There is no doubt that most who were asked why Brexit is essential (even if they admitted to voting Remain) responded with “It’s the will of the people".
7/20
Now, I will set aside further discussion of whether a 52/48 margin and a vote by 37.4% of the eligible electorate (c.26% of all citizens represented) should have been taken as the 'will of the people’, but will go back to the definition of 'democracy' above.
8/20
It's clearly impractical to get the WHOLE population to vote. Just managing the transient effects of births and deaths would be a challenge.

Getting ALL eligible voters to vote is a challenge too. Some would say that mandatory voting denies the right not to vote.
9/20
Anyway, for the results of a population or electorate vote to be considered truly democratic the result would need to be voted for by >50% of either the WHOLE population or >50% of ALL of the electorate.
10/20
So, I now much better understand how, over a long time, the UK and most other countries have arrived at systems to elect representatives into assemblies that act democratically in the best interests of the whole nation. Those elected represent all of ’the people’.
11/20
Many countries allow referendums to provide information on public opinion. If these are used to make decisions they normally have voting 'pass marks' that aim to ensure results can be defined as democratic or strict rules about how clear options are given to voters.
12/20
Having pondered all of the above for many months I share my thoughts here simply as a UK citizen, not a politician, academic, activist or anarchist. I will be honest, I wanted the UK to Remain in the EU and thought Brexit should have been stopped because …
13/20
... I do not think that there was a truly democratic vote on whether the UK should exit the EU and I am certain that Parliament has not represented the whole of the UK so far. I write this in full knowledge of the A50 vote in 2017 and GE result in 2019.
14/20
MPs were discouraged from expressing their judgement of what is in the best interests of the UK and Party interests were presented as dominant over National. Some MPs recognised the bind that they were in but most failed to do their duty.
15/20

In the 3 years after the EU referendum, I believed that all MPs should have been given a free vote about whether Brexit was in the best interests of the nation. They never were. That has set a dangerous precedent. All of ‘the people’ were not represented.
16/20
The Conservative’s 2019 manifesto sets out (from page 47) an intent to revise the roles of Parliament and the Judiciary to undermine their abilities to hold the Executive to account. This flies in the face of the fact that the Executive (Government) is not elected.
17/20
Please write to your MP to let them know that the House of Commons needs to freely debate and vote upon whether any proposed Executive actions are best for the UK. It must be accountable if Government aims to act against the national interest. Any MP's first duty is clear.
18/20
The current UK Government are trying to change the way that the UK’s representative democracy works so that actions executed are ‘the will of the Party’ and not ‘of the people’. All of the people should be concerned that representative democracy may be destroyed.
19/20
Parliament Must Decide, not the Government.
20/20 https://twitter.com/newpaulhearn/status/1200682194500497408?s=20
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