This may seem a strange thing to say: Democracy isn't actually about finding out what the people want and just trying to do it. Democracy is about setting out a vision and a plan for the country and persuading people to follow it.
Simple fact, if an opinion is popular. Completely ignoring it is anti-democratic.
This is an incredibly simplistic definition which describes delegates, not representatives.
A delegate must do what they are instructed - think of them as your hands - whereas a representative is someone who makes decisions on your behalf - a second brain.
Delegates are extremely susceptible to tyranny of the majority, whereas representatives - in theory - seek to balance actions across all the people they represent, as well as their expertise and knowledge.
Populism is that thing your mum was on about where if your friends all jumped off a cliff, would you?
It might absolutely be the right decision, depending on the context, but if it isn't then you shouldn't do the wrong thing just because it's popular.
Classic Sir Tony. The Amol Rajan interview with him the other day on BBC was good though. Especially liked when Amol read out a very frank paragraph from his recent book about the allure of wielding power and asked him to comment on it.