Do referendums enhance democracy?

Referendums are considered to enhance democracy by sharpening the mandate for public policy decisions. Whilst decisions in parliament are usually made by our MPs through a representative democratic system, referendums offer the public a direct vote and is therefore direct democracy. This offers a stronger mandate than representatives voting on constituents behalf because the referendums produce results that accurately reflect how many support or oppose certain legislation pieces. The majority government often has a weak mandate; in 2015 the conservatives won 36.9% of the votes on a 66.1% turnout, meaning only 24.4.% of the electorate actually voted for a conservative government. For more important policy decisions, referendums give a stronger mandate than representatives.Following on from the this, referendums enhance democracy by legitimising controversial issues that should be taken into the hands of the people. It is not easy for representatives to vote on issues such as abortion, gay marriage and the legalisation of cannabis, because this are issues are emotionally rooted in society and opinions are often very strong. Since representatives voting records are released, they may lose their seat at the next election based on their decision. Referendums avoid this issue such as Ireland's referendum on the legalisation of gay marriage in 2015 that received a 62% YES vote.