Politics: Luke flower 1. Democratic Legitimacy means that a government has been given by the voters a Democratic Mandate in an election to govern and therefore legally exercises power in the interests of all the people. At a British General Election, for example, a government is held accountable for its policies and the party, or parties, that wins the most seats may be said to have the democratic consent or legitimacy to govern on behalf of the public. 2. A Referendum can be held on Constitutional issues/changes if any changes alter the relationship between different parts of the state (e.g. devolution), or between citizens and the state such as the devolution referendum in 1979 where most Scots voted “yes” but 40% needed was not reached and it was unfavourable in Wales. Also, when there is a history of conflict and an agreement is to be made. Furthermore, If our representatives are unable to come to a decision about an issue or ff the govt feel that there will be much discontentment amongst the public if a decision is made without their consent, i.e. an issue that the people have strong opinions on, such as the EU referendum that is going to take place by the end of 2017. 3. The principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty in the UK means that referendums cannot be binding although it would be very difficult for governments to ignore the results of official referendums. Several important arguments have been raised in support of the increased use of referendums. It is argued that although full direct democracy may be impractical and inefficient in modern, large scale, complex societies the use of referendums is an important mechanism for the provision of some direct democracy which can increase citizens’ active participation in and understanding of political questions. In general referendums are said to enhance the legitimacy and acceptability