“Direct democracy would be a start to fixing the disconnect between people and politics, but it would probably be the start of a very long road of not just reform, but politicians and other key figures regaining the trust of skeptical, disconnected, disenfranchised public.”

We have the technology to implement direct democracy in the U.S. via online voting but I doubt it would improve the competence and efficiency of our federal government or the people’s opinion of government. I’m not aware of the political competence of the U.K. electorate but here in the U.S. most citizens don’t have the time, inclination or knowledge to perform their civic duty. Many who are eligible to register to vote don’t register. Many who are registered to vote don’t vote. Many who vote rely strictly on a candidate’s associated political party instead of the character and qualifications of the candidate. Our children graduate from high school with minimal understanding and appreciation of the structure of our federal government and the checks and balances incorporated into our Constitution. One of the major functions of Congress is to debate an issue, propose potential solutions, compromise to reach a consensus, and then pass legislation to implement the derived solution. This essential process would be impractical to implement in a direct democracy comprised of a hundred million of participants.