When one is asked to say which of the two systems best guarantees the maintenance of democratic principles in a state, in most cases, the British monarchy comes to mind, and so one assumes automatically that the United States" Presidential system is the more democratic. However, in in-depth study one will find other criteria that would give a different approach. To really be able to answer this question, one must underline some basic features of democracy and then apply them to both system and see which maintains them the best. The word democracy means rule by the people. United States President Abraham Lincoln described such form of self-government as "government of the people, by the people, for the people." One will have to analyse how much of this is real taking place in present day United States. The most important aspects of the democratic way of life have been the principles of individual equality and freedom, something which I feel is dealt with quite well in both systems. The United States having a written constitution, freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly are protected by the constitution. Other basic features of a democracy include: free elections, majority rule and minority rights, existence of political parties, control on powers, constitutional governments and private organizations. The systems of these two countries include a lot, if not all, of these features. Britain's constitution is not written. However, certain customs and conventions, as well as certain major documents and many laws, are widely accepted as the basic rules of the system. Now I am going to take a deeper look at the two systems and analyse better how they differ and work. .
The UK Parliament which has been called "the mother of parliaments," does not obtain its authority from a written constitution. Instead, Parliament's power developed gradually over many centuries and is based on tradition and custom as well as written law.