Democracy Flashcards
Feature of democracy
Free speech:
People can freely express their political views publicly. If they are unhappy with a governments decision or a politicians actions they can express their opinions as long as they respect the views of others and not slander or incite hatred.
Feature of democracy
Right to vote:
People can cast a vote in elections and referenda as long as they are over the age of 18 in UK elections and over 16 in Scottish elections. Some people like prisoners with long sentences are not allowed to vote.
Rights people have
Free speech:
People can freely express their political views publicly. If they are unhappy with a government decision or a politicians actions they can express their opinions in public or on social media as long as they respect the views of others and not slander or incite hatred.
Right people have
Vote:
People can vote in elections or referendum as long as they are over the age of 18 in UK elections and over 16 in Scottish elections. Some people, like prisoners with long sentences aren’t allowed to vote.
Why people vote
They feel strongly about an issue:
When people feel strongly about an issue that affects them or a cause they believe in and they want something done about it they will vote for a political party that promised to address that issue.
Why people vote
Because they know how important decisions made by the Scottish parliament are for life:
The Scottish parliament is very powerful and has a lot of responsibility for making Scotland a good place to live. Scottish parliament is responsible for devolved matters like health and education which are some of the issues that people care more about.
Why people don’t vote
They don’t feel like any of the candidates represent them:
Young people, women, LGBT people, ethnic minorities and disabled people often don’t vote because they don’t see anyone representing them in politics and can’t relate to policies candidates to stand for. This stops them from voting because they feel politics isn’t for them.
Why people don’t vote
They don’t think their vote will matter:
Individuals on their own might not feel that their voice is loud enough and feel that a single vote won’t make a difference in the election result. This is the case in safe seats where the same party has won every election for decades and so some voters choose not to vote because they believe the same party will win anyway.
Why some people are less likely to vote
Young people because they don’t care about politics:
Young people don’t follow politics because they find it boring or don’t think it really affects them. They might not understand the policies of different parties and not know who to vote for and chose not to vote at all.
Why some people are less likely to vote
Minority groups because they don’t feel represented by candidates:
Most politicians are white men and because of that young people, women, LGBT people, ethnic minorities and disabled people often don’t see anyone representing them in politics and can’t relate to policies and ideas they stand for this can lead to them not voting.
Campaign method used by parties
Take part in debates:
This is often when a representative of the party will take part in a public debate against people from the opposite party. They do this in the hope that people will like what they say and vote for them.
Campaign method used by parties
Canvassing and leafleting:
This is when the candidates and other party members will go around the local constituency to knock on doors, hand out leaflets and try to encourage people to vote for their party.
Reason for campaign success
They have many members involved:
This means a high number of members can help a party have a successful campaign. The more members a party has, the more people it has going around and knocking on the doors of local people promoting the party and convincing people to vote for the party’s candidate.
Reason for campaign success
Having the right leader:
The leader is really important as they are the face of your party and will take part in leaders debates on TV that let people judge you and your party. A good leader could increase your support based on their personal charisma.
Reason for campaign success
Having more funding:
Campaigns can be really expensive as parties have to spend money on printing leaflets, travel, adverts on TV and social media. Political parties employ and pay staff to manage campaigns and having more party funding available allows parties to put up a more successful campaign.
