Is the UK truly democratic?

Is the UK Truly Democratic

When many people are asked about the way in which the UK is run the majority suggest that a form of democracy is the best way of describing it, however how true really is this statement, is the UK really a true democracy? 

To begin with an example of true democracy would be what is called 'Direct Democracy' this is where by the people are given an extremely large amount of power and regular chances to participate in the signing or dismissal of legislation. One example of this 'Direct Democracy' would be Switzerland, this central European nation gives it populous the chance to vote on any piece of legislation if they so choose. Yet, how does this stack up against the UK? Instead of us directly voting on legislature we instead choose and entrust elected officials to carry out this role for us. For example in the UK we vote for a political party which then puts forward a MP to represent us in Parliament. So overall does the UK's form of democracy make the nation truly democratic, no not really, the fact that each individuals voice is not heard proves that it is not a true democracy, however this system does seem to be some what efficient so it could be argued that a true democracy is not always necessary.

Secondly, there is another key aspect of the UK that must be considered, the Monarchy. The United Kingdom still has a constitutional monarch who is seen as the head of state when on overseas visits and ceremonial visits. Monarchies ruled with a autocratic grip, only the monarchs decisions would matter and only their voices would be heard, however in the modern day the Queens power is very limited. She has the right to be consulted and to advise and warn MP's, yet the Queen also wields the power to declare war and peace and due to this being a largely autocratic aspect it proves that democracy whilst still dominant could be overruled by the monarch in power. Overall for this section the UK could be described as being held back by the chains of autocracy due to its monarch stricken past, however it is unlikely the monarchs would ever regain full control therefore the legitimacy of democracy still stands.

Finally the UK uses the First Past the Post system when voting, although this system allows for the transfer of power from one party to the next easier, combined with the reduced chance of extremism, it is seen as less democratic when compared to Proportional Representation. With Proportional Representation a party wins seats depending on the amount of votes they gain, therefore smaller parties are given a fair chance in winning seats, this system is extremely democratic as each party is treated fairly. Despite this being fact the system has some serious faults, the most major being the appearance of dozens of small parties, therefore making it extremely difficult to come to an agreement. 

With all of this taken into consideration it seems that the UK is not the most democratic nation in the world, but is not due to a corrupt government, this is due to the UK taking the best bits from democratic systems and applying them to a 21st century government. Some are removed and added to make the system work better and others are kept for the matter of tradition and culture.