Politics

Question 1

What does ‘Directly Elected’ mean?

Answer 1

Voters directly vote for the people who serve in this part of our system

Question 2

What does ‘Inderectly Elected’ mean?

Answer 2

The person is elected then chosen to play an additional, more powerful role by someone in government

Question 3

What does ‘Unelected’ mean?

Answer 3

The individuals involved are not elected by the public but play a role in our political system

Question 4

Where are people directly elected?

Answer 4

The House of Commons

Question 5

Where are people indirectly elected?

Answer 5

• The executive

* The prime minister and cabinet

Question 6

Where are people unelected?

Answer 6

• The monarch

* The House of Lords

Question 7

Name 3 different electoral systems used within the U.K.

Answer 7

• First past the post
• Additional member system
• Single transferable vote

Question 8

Which electoral system does the House of Commons use?

Answer 8

First past the post

Question 9

Which electoral system does the Scottish Parliament use?

Answer 9

Additional member system

Question 10

Which electoral system does the Scottish Local Councils use?

Answer 10

Single Transferrable Vote

Question 11

Which constituency type does FPtP use?

Answer 11

Single member constituency

Question 12

Which constituency type does AMS use?

Answer 12

Single and multi-member constituency

Question 13

Which constituency type does STV use?

Answer 13

Multi-member constituency

Question 14

What is single member constituency?

Answer 14

Each constituency is represented by only one MP

Question 15

What is multi-member constituency?

Answer 15

Each geographical area returns several political representatives

Question 16

Give 3 arguments in favour of FPtP voting system

Answer 16

1. Simplicity - Quick and easy to understand
2. Efficiency - Quick and easy to count
3. Moderation - Extremist parties (e.g. The racist BNP) have never been elected as they only poll a small number of votes and FPtP demands that you must poll the MOST votes in each constituency in order to win

Question 17

Give 3 arguments against FPtP

Answer 17

1. Unfairness - Smaller parties like Liberal Democrats, UKIP, and Green are poorly represented as distribution of seats is not proportional to percentage of votes gained
2. Wasted Votes - Any vote that doesn’t go to winning candidate is wasted as it doesn’t contribute to election of anyone
3. Minority Dominance - One party can dominate the government without having majority votes

Question 18

Give one example of minority dominance in the government

Answer 18

The Conservative government in 2015 had over 50% of seats in Parliament but only polled less than 37% of the vote

Question 19

Give one example of unfairness of FPtP voting

Answer 19

In the 2015 General Elections UKIP had almost 13% of the vote but only elected one MP out of 650, whereas SNP’s picked up 56 seats with less than 5% of UK vote

Question 20

What is AMS voting?

Answer 20

• First vote uses FPtP and allows the candidate to elect a constituency MSP
• Second vote allows voter to elect a party - in Scotland this vote was used to elect an additional 56 Regional List MSP’s

Question 21

Give 3 arguments in favour of AMS

Answer 21

1. Fairness - produces a more proportional and fair result - in second vote, number of seats gained are similar to percentage of votes won
2. Representation - First 2 Scottish Parliament elections (1999 & 2003) resulted in coalition governments meaning wishes of more people were met
3. Smaller parties are more fairly represented

Question 22

Give one example of a fairly represented party with AMS voting

Answer 22

In the Scottish Parliament Election 2016 Greens gained 6.6% of regional votes and gained 6 seats

Question 23

Give 3 arguments against AMS voting

Answer 23

1. Confusion - two votes could be difficult for voters to understand. Could mean a reduction in voter turnout
2. Spoiled Ballot papers - at 2007 election the ballot papers were combined into one sheet of paper, confusing voters and causing over 100,000 ballot papers being spoiled
3. Lack of proper represnatation - AMS tends to produce coalition government meaning voters are likely to have a government no one directly voted for

Question 24

What are the 3 main features of STV voting?

Answer 24

• Multi member constituencies
• Voters rank choices from 1-5 etc
• A quota decides how many votes needed to win

Question 25

Give 3 arguments in favour of STV voting

Answer 25

1. Counters Apathy - no votes are wasted 2. Fairness - Smaller parties are more likely to receive more seats 3. Expansion of choice - Voters are given a greater choice of candidates both between and within parties

Question 26

Give 3 arguments against STV voting

Answer 26

1. Confusion - A more complicated voting system for voters may lead to reduced turnout 2. More complicated to count 3. May lead to tactical voting

Question 27

What are devolved powers?

Answer 27

These are powered that Westminster have allowed the Scottish Parliament to make decisions on

Question 28

Give 3 examples of devolved powers

Answer 28

* Education * Health * Housing

Question 29

How does an MSP represent us within the constituency?

Answer 29

* Holds surgeries - to find out concerns/views of constituents * Attends social events like the opening of a new school * Replying to letters/emails/phone calls from constituents * Attends local meetings and events, to keep up to date with constituents and what's going on within constituency * Meetinf with local councillor or MP to discuss issues further

Question 30

How does MSP represent us within the Scottish Parliament?

Answer 30

* Being members of committees where Bills are introduced, scrutinised and amended * Asking questions at First Ministers or Ministers question time * Speaking in chamber on behalf of constituents * Voting in chamber, with constituents views in mind * Proposing Private Members Bill. Each MSP can propose 2 new bills within each Parliamentary session (4 years)

Question 31

How does the media influence political opinion?

Answer 31

* 80% of households buy a newspaper, which is free to display its political allegiance * Many people say a party leaders image is important. The media have a huge impact on how they portray this * Politicians employ spin-doctors to enhance their image

Question 32

How doesn't the media influence political opinion?

Answer 32

* Political views are more likely to be formed by factors like age, social class, occupation * Information comes in variety of sources, not just media * In a survey of sun readers, 68% said they didn't realise it's political bias

Question 33

Name the 3 main duties of an MSP in Parliament

Answer 33

* Debating in chamber * Sitting on Committees * Voting on proposed laws

Question 34

Name the 3 main duties of an MSP in the constituency

Answer 34

* Holding surgeries * Working with local bodies like the council * Meeting with special interest groups

Question 35

Give one example of a motion put forward by an MSP

Answer 35

Nigel Don submitted a debating motion in 2012 to protect the Scottish birds of prey. It was supported by 30 MSPs out of 129. If was defeated but Nigel Don gained supports from groups within his constituency such as the Scottish Raptor Study Group

Question 36

What happens within committees?

Answer 36

They scrutinise the work of the government. Each committee has a specific area to focus on (e.g. Health and Sport Committee examines the Scottish Governments health policy, the NHS in Scotland, sport and other matters within its remit)

Question 37

Explain 3 devolved powers the Scottish Parliament hold

Answer 37

* Health - The NHS in Scotland (hospitals, GP services etc) * Education - Nurseries, schools, colleges and universities * Law and home affairs - Criminal law, civil law, the police, court and prison services, the fire service