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Modern Studies > Democracy in Scotland > Flashcards

Democracy in Scotland Flashcards

1
Q

Powers of the Scottish Parliament

A

-main function is to make laws which affect the scottish people(devoted matters)

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2
Q

Devolved powers

decided in Scotland

A

HEALTH- Alcohol minimum pricing 2012
-different health concerns to the rest of the UK

EDUCATION- Post 16 education bill 2016
-can offer different types of jobs, and are in control of the courses in Scotland

HOUSING- Housing(Scotland) act 2014
-may need more houses in different areas, or more council houses to deal with homelessness

FORESTRY-Rural development programme 2014
-there is a high % of forestry in rural area, so need to be in control

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3
Q

Reserved powers

dealt with at westminster as they effect the whole of the UK

A

DEFENCE- defence reform act 2014
-need to make sure the whole of Uk has suitable defences

TRANSPORT- Transport act 2000
-need to make sure roads are safe for the public

FINANCIAL MATTERS- Financial act 2014
-need to make sure the country is financially stable

EMPLOYMENT- Increase statuary pay rates 2015
-need to make sure they have as many jobs available for the public, with wages high enough to live off of

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4
Q

Role of MSP’s(committees)

A

-most MSP’s are a member of at least 1 committee
most meet weakly/fortnightly(tues/wed)
-each committee is given a particular area or subject to examine in detail.
ex- justice committee considers and reports on matter relating to crime and law in Scotland

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5
Q

Role of MSP’s(Debates)

A
  • meet in the debating chamber on wednesdays and thursdays
  • may put forward motions about problems experienced by people they represent, and ask the parliament to consider how to solve them
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6
Q

Role of MSP’s(members bill)

A
  • each MSP has the right to introduce 2 bills during one parliamentary session(4 years)
  • if an MSP is contacted by members of the public about an issue they may decide to get a change in the law by introducing a members bill
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7
Q

Role of MSP’s(votes)

A
  • at the end of each day in the chamber, MSP’s vote. This is called ‘decision time’
  • the results of the vote will decide whether an issue passes on tho the next stage of the legislative process.
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8
Q

Constituency(work they do in parliament)

role of MSPs

A

–all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning
-they may be part of a MANDATORY or SUBJECT committee
MANDATORY- A key committee required by the rules of the parliament
SUBJECT- committees created by the parliament to deal with a particular subject or area

there are 16 committees made up of 7-11 MSP’s
-they may scrutinise proposed bills
-make changes to bills
conduct enquiries

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9
Q

Constituency (work they do in parliament)

A
  • Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday
  • all 129 MSP’s have the opportunity to discuss and vote on the issues of that day in the chamber of the parliament

they represent us in the chamber by;
speaking and voting in the chamber
putting forward a motion to be debated
suggest a change to be made to a bill

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10
Q

Constituency ( work they do in their constituency or region)

A

Monday and all day Friday
-writing reply to letters/emails
-attending meeting to discuss issues with groups
attending special events
-holding surgeries i.e a particular time and place where constituents can meet their MSP and raise any problems with them

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11
Q

Making Laws (stage 1)

A

the whole parliament will debate the bill
the MSPs will then vote on the bill
if the majority vote in favour then the bill be passed on to the next stage. If not, the bill will be thrown out

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12
Q

Making Laws( stage 2)

A

now of the committees will then examine the bill in detail(this committee will be the one linked to the bill)
the committee can make amendments to the bill
the committee will then report to parliament

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13
Q

Making Laws( stage 3)

A

the whole parliament will debate the bill
this is a full debate where MSP”s can submit amendments to the bill that are voted on one at a time
MSP’s then vote, and if it is a majority, the bill will become a law

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14
Q

Making Laws(stage 4)

A

the monarch must sign all bills before they become a law
this reflects the fact that Scotland is part of the UK

in 2014, 19 bills were discussed by the Scottish Parliament

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15
Q

Different types of bills (executive)

A

these are bills introduced by the Scottish Government and make up a majority of legislation;

  • community care and health act 2002
  • water industry act 2002
  • transport scotland act 2001
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16
Q

Different types of bills(committee)

A

these are initiated by a committee, during the first session of the scottish parliament,(1999-2003) three committee bills were passed ;

  • protection from abuse (scotland) act 2001
  • scottish parliamentary standards commissioner act 2002
  • commissioner for children and young people(scotland)act 2003
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17
Q

Different types of bills(member’s)

A

each MSP has the right to introduce two bills during one parliamentary session

  • abolitaion of poundings and warrant sales act 2001- introduced by Tommy Sheridan(MSP until May 2007)
  • -protection of wild mammal (scotland) act 2002- introduced by Mike Watson (MSP until September 2005)
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18
Q

Different types of bills(private)

A

a private bill is introduced by an individual,group or company
the first private bill to be passed was;
robbin rigg offshore wind farm (navigation and fishing)(scotland) bill
the first private bill passed was ; the national galleries of scotland bill 2003

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19
Q

Committees(the work of committees)

A

Designed to be a strength of the parliament
-major role is to examine legislation and scrutinise the government
- aims to encourage involvement of the public in parliaments activities
SUBJECT- energy, tourism,health
MAJORITY-finance, public petitions

GATHERING EVIDENCE

  • Cn use emails/letters
  • during the passing of the disabled person’s parking bill, relevant committees got evidence from Asda representatives as well as traffic police
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20
Q

The fist minister(role 1- ruling on devolved powers)

A
  • political leader of Scotland
  • chairs the scottish cabinet
-give the scottish parliament the opportunity to produce solutions to scottish problems 
they passed laws 
-abolishing uni tuition fees
- providing free personal care
- introduced the smoking ban
21
Q

The fist minister(role 2- selecting the cabinet)

A
  • can select the cabinet as they want, depending to the party targets& ideology
  • may have to pick someone they don’t like, but may be best for the job
22
Q

The fist minister(role 3- promoting scotland on an international level )

A
  • governments strategy to promote scotland internationally and encourage healthier living/ increase participation in sort
  • alex salmond was at the forefront of Glasgows preparations for hosting the 2014 commonwealth games
23
Q

The fist minister(role 4- being accountable)

A
  • is accountable for the actions of themeself and the scottish government at first ministers question time.
    McDonnell extended and moved FMQT to thursday at 12pm to try and improve the quality of the exchanges

FMQT is the opposite parties opportunity to score points and embarrass the scottish government

24
Q

Local councils

A

are part of the structure of government in scotland(below the scottish parliament)
-local councils provide a wide range of services;
MANDATORY,PERMISSIBLE,DISCRETIONARY
Mandatory- must be provided by law(primary and secondary education, police and fire services)
Permissible- do not have to be provided, but councils usually do(leisure centres)
Discretionary- local councils choose to allocate funds to particular local projects(flood prevention in perth)

25
Q

council finance

A

council tax
- each council in scotland charges a property tax on every house
the amount is based od the size of the house
-8 band - A-H
discounts are available depending on circumstances

service charges

  • can proves services that they can charge for the use
  • gym facilities/swimming pools/sports clubs

national non-domestic rate
- money paid by businesses to the council based on the value of their property

Government grants

  • aggregate external finance - proper name
  • comes directly from the government
  • the government sets the amount, then the scottish executive allocates money to the 32 councils

PPP
a private company pays for the building/refurbishment of big projects and the councils rent if off them on a contract
all glasgow secondary school have been funded by PPP money

26
Q

Councillors

A

each council is divided into a number of electoral areas called wards
councillors represent the people in their ward, and are elected by STV
If local people have a problem, they meet with their councillor for help/advice
-ex Balfron people didn’t want a mobile phone mast near their home, so they started a petition and presented it to the local councillor

27
Q

Councillors (main roles)

A

-represet the views of their community and their needs
- hold drop in surgeries to spend time with their constituents
-provide political leadership
-make decisions on major local and national priorities
have a duty to scrutinise the performance of the council in delivering the priorities and targets they set.

28
Q

Political parties (SNP)

A

supports and campaigns for scottish independence.
nicola sturgeon= leader

PARTY IDEOLOGY
Opposes government cuts and wants spending to increase in order to protect public services and vulnerable people, and wants to reduce the voting age to 16
-recieved 1.4 million votes and 56 out of 59 SCOTTISH seats in the 2015 general election

29
Q

Political parties( labour)

A

Part of the UKs Labour Party

PARTY IDEOLOGY
-wants to raise the minimum wage,promote the living wage and abolish the bedroom tax

Won 1 out of 56 seats in SCOTLAND in the 2010 election

30
Q

Political parties ( conservative and unionist)

A

Leader= Ruth Davidson(been leader since 2011)

PARTY IDEOLOGY
-support the Scottish government policy of free state care for the elderly and back the decision to abolish uni tuition fees in Scotland

Only won 1 seat out of 59 SCOTTISH seats

31
Q

Political parties ( liberal democrats)

A

PARTY IDEOLOGY
Believe in making cuts to reduce the deficit, and renewing the trident nuclear weapons system, but think they should save money by only having 3 submarines rather than 4

Only received 1 SCOTTISH seat in the2015 ( people believe it’s due to the fact that they raised tuition fees in England after pledging not to)

32
Q

Political parties (greens)

A

PARTY IDEOLOGY
Associated with environmental policies
-supports Scottish independence
-oppose the renewal of trident nuclear weapons in order to find investment in public services and the abolition of poverty( want to increase personal tax to pay for it)

Won 1 out of 650 seats in the 2015 UK election

33
Q

Political parties ( socialist party)

A

PARTY IDEOLOGY
heavily involved in campaigns for Scottish independence
Against cuts to public services and welfare and bedroom tax

0 seats at all

34
Q

Political parties ( independence)

A

PARTY IDEOLOGY
-believed in the withdrawal of Britain from the European Union

Received 1 out of 650 seats in 3015

35
Q

Using our right to vote (reasons for)

A

WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY- what have the right to vote for whoever we want in fair elections, many countries do not have this benefit

VOTING GIVES THE GOVERNMENT LEGITIMACY- meaning they have the people’s support to make decisions

VOTING GIVES YOU THE POWER TO CHOOSE HOW THE UK IS RUN- if you have a complaint about the way the country is being run, voting is a way to make a change as you can vote for a candidate who suits your views

YOUR LOCAL MPsCAN HELP FIGHT IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR YOU- voting for them can help them keep their jobs and continue their positive work in your community

36
Q

Using our right to vote( reasons against)

A

MANY PEOPLE MAY THINK THEY ARE TOO BUSY -family, work and other life events get in the way of voting

MANY PEOPLE THINK THEIR VOTE DOES NOT COUNT- As they are only 1 person in the FPTP system their v small contribution would not matter. Ex in a constituency where nearly all people vote conservative there would be no point voting labour as they have no chance of getting in

VOTING REGISTRATION IS A PROCESS THAT PEOPLE ARE INTIMIDATED BY - some people may not be able to understand the forms or do not bother registering

WHEATHER/ CANNOT GET TO THE POLLING PLACE-may not drive and by the time they finish work and get a bus, the polling station may be closed/ if it is raining, less people will want to go out to vote

37
Q

AMS

A

Has 2 votes- one for the party and one for a constituency representative

Helps overcome disproportionately

ADVANTAGES
- makes the results more proportional- MSPs elected more accurately reflect the views of the Scottish people- eg labour got 29% of the vote in 2011 and 37 MSPs elected around 29% of the seats

MAINTAINS THE LINK BETWEEN CONSTITUENT AND CONSTITUENCY MSP- eg people in Stirling know that there local MSP is Bruce Crawford

HAS HELPED SMALLER PARTIES WIN SEATS- the Green Party has 2 MSPs

DISADVANTAGES

CAN RESULT IN A MINORITY/COALITION GOVERNMENT- SNP 2007-2011 was a minority government (made it difficult to pass laws

BREAK THE LINK BETWEEN CONSTITUENTS AND SEVEN REGIONAL MSPs- political parties decide who becomes a regional MSP not the vote eg- the conversations decided Murdo Fraser would be regional MSP

CONFUSES VOTERS - how it works- what MSP they should contact - people might not who be sure WHEATHER they should contact their constituency MSP or a regional MSP

38
Q

Coalition

A

Advantages

More democratic- therefore fairer and more willing to take its more people’s views

Provide good governments at their decisions are made on behalf of the people- due to a wide range in opinions any policy will be debated thoroughly before being decided upon

Disadvantages

TRANSPARENT -not so open and honest- often the real decisions about specific policies are made after the election

CAN BE V UNSTABLE- restricts the ability of governments to deal with major reforms and means that politicians seldom stay in any particular ministerial post for long enough to get to grips with its demands

39
Q

Majority governments

a party that has absolute majority of seats in the parliament

A

Advantages

TGE GOVERNING PARTY CAN BE HELD FULLY TO ACCOUNT FOR ITS ACTIONS- if people do not like the SNP policy of freezing council tax, they can vote against the SNP at the next election

DECISION MAKING IS EASIER IN GOVERNMENT-leads to a greater sense of stability- when the SNP governed as a minority from 2007-2011, they had to negotiate deals with other parties every year to get their budget passed( argued that it lead to rushed decision making)

Disadvantages

Governing party has a majority on every committee- this reduces the influence of the committees -SNP has a majority on the finance committee which ensures the finance bill proposed by the finance secretary (John Swinney) will pass the committee stage without major amendments each year

ONLU ONE PARTY HAS A MAJOR INFLUENCE IN THE POLICIES FOLLOWED BY GOVERNMENT- SNP are the only party that has any government ministers presently, whereas the coalition government of 1999-2007 had both labour and liberal democrat members

40
Q

Single transferable vote (STV)

  • 1vote
  • vote gets transferred onto next preference
A

Advantages
VOTING IS EASY- just rank candidates 1,2,3 in order of preference

ALL BOTES COUNT- makes it highly proportional

EMPOWERS VOTERS- voters have multiple choices and not just 1

CAN VOTE FOR DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE SAME PARTY - may encourage voters tho vote if there is different choices of candidates

Disadvantages

HARDER FOR SMALLER PARTIES TO BE ELECTED- hard to get a change in government

MULTI MEMBERS COULD CONFUSE VOTERS - may not know who the vote goes to

OFTEN LEADS TO COALITIONS- some people may not want that

TOO MANY ELECTORAL SYSTEMS USED- FPTP, AMS,STV)

41
Q

Influence of the media
(Role)
- the main means of mass communication (tv, radio and the newspaper) regarded collectively
IN FORMING

A

One of the main sources of information about the world of politics
- it reports and broadcasts news which keeps people informed
Tv channels will broadcast news- BBC have Scottish News at 6.30pm every night

42
Q

Role of the media

EDUCATING

A

Had the means to educate society

  • it can explain the significance of event happening around the world
  • some journalists will try to take an objective view and allow the public to make up their own minds
43
Q

Influence of the media

A

Had a large role in deciding what the public learns and can shape and influence public knowledge and attitudes

  • media has a responsibility to be truths and accurate in the information it presents( as the government doesnt control)
  • newspapers favour difference parties
44
Q

Newspapers

A

TABLOIDS
Smaller a sized papers like the sun and daily record
- concentrate on human interest stories and do not always publish political stories
- v influential but can be biased
-daily record pride themselves on campaigning journalism and see themselves as the voice of the people on major political matters

BROADSHEETS
meant to be bigger but many have reduced size in recent years
- content is much more to do with politics, economics and foreign affairs
- give readers facts as well as both sides of an argument

45
Q

Television and radio

A

Must not be biased
- organisations can complain if they feel they have been portrayed in an unfair way( political parties complain the most)
Political party in power gets more attention that other parties

46
Q

Broadcasting media

A

Laws are reserved to Westminster but Alex salmond set up the broadcasting commission for Scotland as he thinks Scotland is underrepresented in terms of news programmes
- anyone can complain if hey feel they have portrayed in an unfair way - Russell brand and Jonathon Ross made innappropriate comments on a BBC radio 2 station

47
Q

New forms of media

(

A

Internet has been increasing
- during the 2007 elections, many websites were set up to focus on the Scottish election campaign ie youthscotland and Holyrood 2007

INTERNET
Government is increasing the amount of info available on the internet
Growing v quickly and politicians are keen to engage with online networks to communicate with the public
- can access a wide range of info including rail business and Holyrood TV provides live versions of FMQT

48
Q

Controls on the media

A

The press complaints commission(PPC) is responsible for ensuring that a code of practice is followed by the media
COP sets out the guidelines to ensure that the rights of individuals is respected
If the code is not followed, people are encouraged to write to the editor of the newspaper to resolve the issue, if not, a complaint can be made to the PPC and they will investigate

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