Democracy In Scotland

Question 1

Example of devolved power (1/2)

Answer 1

P: Health and social services
E: The scottish parliament can legislate in all areas of policy regarding health. This means the policies regarding the NHS in Scotland are made at Hollyrood.
E: Free eye tests, prescriptions, dental services and period products.

Question 2

Example of devolved power (2/2)

Answer 2

P: Education
E: decisions on the Scottish education system are made at Hollyrood. Work within parliament and education committees, decide on policies to ensure all children and young people are lifelong learners.
E: Early education and care, curriculum for excellence, abolished tuition fees for Scottish College and university.

Question 3

Example of reserved power (1/2)

Answer 3

P: foreign affairs
E: relations with other countries, both allies and adversaries. Diplomatic ties, bilateral, multilateral and international treaties.
E: EU relations, post-Brexit

Question 4

Example of reserved power (2/2)

Answer 4

P: immigration, asylum and visas
E: Living and working in the UK, who is allowed to come here and work. Refugees/asylum seekers, and dealing with those who come here illegally. Agreeing work visas. Point based system following Brexit.
E: Illegal immigration bill, hostile immigration policy.

Question 5

What are devolved powers?

Answer 5

Devolved powers are decision/matters that are made in the Scottish Parliament and affect those living in Scotland. When central power like Westminster, passes down power and decision-making to state or local level.

Question 6

Civil and political rights

Answer 6

– Right to vote
– Right to a fair trial
– Freedom of assembly
– The rate to protest/demonstrate

Question 7

Economic and social rights

Answer 7

– The right to education
– The right to life
– The right to privacy
– The rate to free speech

Question 8

Describe two political rights that people in Scotland have

Answer 8

P: One political rate, the people in Scotland have is the right to protest.
E: if people feel very strongly about an issue that they can come together to bring about a change.
E: for example, the Kenmure street protest around an immigration van in Glasgow in 2021.

P: another political right people have is the right to vote.
E: anyone in Scotland, above the age of 16 have the right to vote in local council and Scottish Parliament elections. (General elections for the uk parliament: 18+)
E: the next opportunity to vote is the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026.

Question 9

What is a trade union?

Answer 9

A trade union is a group of employees, who joined together to maintain an improve their conditions of employment.
For example, in September, more than 21,000 members went on strike for three days at 1868 schools.

Question 10

What is a petition?

Answer 10

People can start a petition and get people to sign it to gain support and raise awareness of an important issue. It also demonstrates to the government that there are others who back your request for change.
In 2020 the Scottish Government agreed to work with the petitioner, St Andrew’s First Aid, and other organisations to meet the aims of the petition.

Question 11

3 roles of an MSP outside of parliament

Answer 11

P: Attending events and meetings
E: listening to the views of their constituents and people from other groups and organisations.
E: Daniel Johnson attended the Eric Liddell centre ‘jail and bail’ fundraiser for dementia.

P: Holding regular surgeries
E:Constituents come together and discuss an issue or problem.
E: Daniel Johnson holds surgeries on Monday, Friday and Saturday mornings.

P: Responding to emails, letters and post on social media
E:
E: Daniel Johnson posted on social media about his ‘perk up our play parks’ plan.

Question 12

What is first minister question time?

Answer 12

First minister question time takes place every Thursday for 30 minutes. The first minister answers questions about the work and actions of the Scottish government.

Question 13

Who is Scotlands first minister?

Answer 13

Humza Yusef

Question 14

How many MSP does the Scottish Parliament have?

Answer 14

The Scottish Parliament has 129 MSP’s.
Voters in Scotland have 8 potential MSP’s.
(1 constituency and 7 regional)

Question 15

What are reserved powers

Answer 15

The UK Parliament regains control over over a whole range of national affairs for example: defence, foreign affairs and immigration.

Question 16

What is article 8?

Answer 16

Article 8 the right to respect for your family and private life your home and your correspondence is one of the rights protected by the human rights act

Question 17

What is a pressure group

Answer 17

An organisation of like-minded people that try to influence policy by putting pressure on the government, representatives and law makers to bring about a change.

Question 18

3 methods used by pressure groups?

Answer 18

P: Taking part in demonstrations
E: Demonstrations are an example of direct action. They may or may not have an effect on the government but they raise awareness and gain media/public attention.
E: Immediate ceasefire in Gaza demonstration, Nov 23 glasgow

P: Petitions
E: Pressure groups organise and get people to sign petitions which they send to the government. This shows the amount of people who agree with the view and can raise awareness.
E: Franks law - extend free personal care to under 65s

P: Using social media to raise awareness
E: Social media can reach a large audience and can be used to target your demographic to attract support. It can also be used to organise events.

Question 19

Why join a pressure group?

Answer 19

P: Contribute to bringing about a change
E: People feel very strongly about certain issues and joining a pressure group can help raise awareness of these issues and try and change/solve them.
E: Extinction Rebellion staged a peaceful sit in of Scottish parliaments debating chamber in Jan 2019

•raise awareness to a cause
•influence government policy
•help raise money for a cause

Question 20

AMS advantages

Answer 20

P: Better proportionality
E: The % of votes cast for each party is roughly proportional to the amount of seats they win.
E: 2021 Scottish parliament election SNP got 47.7% of the constituency votes and won 49.6% of the seats

P: Fair representation of smaller parties
E: Proportional system means that regional votes will get them a seat
E: Green party gained 8 MSPs in 2021 through the regional vote. Only 1 MP in the house of commons because they use FPTP

P: Voter choice
E: Extent to which voters can choose between different political parties. Voters can vote for their first choice smaller party in the regional list and vote tactically for a larger party for constituency if theyre more likely to win
E: A green voter can vote green for regional but vote SNP for constituency because they both support independence and SNP are more likely to win.

Question 21

AMS disadvantages

Answer 21

P: Majority government prevented
E: It is very difficult for one party to form a majority government (deliberate attempt to prevent SNP gaining a majority
E: SNP were a majority government 2006-2011 and 2016+

P: Division/classes of MSPs
E: Constituency MSPs could receive a lot of casework whilst the party-list MSPs do not have the same constituency role.
E: Daniel Johnston may be more prominent than Foysol Choudhury as he is a constituency MSP

P: Safe seats
E: Most seats are safe seats under the FPTP section (73 of the 129 seats in scotland are FPTP)
E: In 2016 and 2021 only 16 of the 73 constituency seats were classed as marginal