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Modern Studies Nat 5 > Democracy In Scotland > Flashcards

Democracy In Scotland Flashcards

1
Q

Powers of the Scottish parliament

2

A

Devolved

Reserved

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2
Q

Devolved powers

2E

A

Are the areas that the Scottish Parliament has control over and is free to make laws about
Eg. Education- curriculum for excellence in 2010-11
Housing- housing act 2014 stopped people from buying their council houses

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3
Q

Reserved powers

2E

A

Are the areas the Scottish Parliament doesn’t have control over, theses areas are controlled by the uk parliament
Eg. Defence- defence reform act 2014
Gambling- gambling act 2005

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4
Q

Powers of the first minister

3

A

Chooses cabinet members
Represents Scotland abroad
Implements government policies

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5
Q

Chooses cabinet ministers

1E

A

She is the leader of the Scottish cabinet so can select MPs to serve in it
Eg. Made John Swinney education secretary

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6
Q

Represents Scotland abroad

1E

A

She promotes Scotland as a place to visit and do business with
Eg. She visited Paris for a WW1 memorial

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7
Q

Implements government policies

1E

A

She is responsible for developing and putting policies into action
Eg. Free school meals policy for p1-3s

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8
Q

Rights of individuals

3

A

To vote
To join a party
To campaign

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9
Q

Rights of individuals- Voting

1E

A

Everyone ( unless under 18, in prison, mentally unstable or a non British citizen) can vote
Eg. Elections are held every 5 years

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10
Q

Why some people don’t vote

2P

A

Think their votes don’t count as they are only one person in a FPTP system,
They are travelling so don’t have a polling place even though they could sign up for a postal vote

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11
Q

Most people do vote because…

2P

A

We live in a democracy and should make the most of it,

People died for the right to vote so it’s disrespectful if we don’t exercise it

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12
Q

Rights of individuals- Joining a party

1E

A

Anyone can join a political party
They do this to show their support of the party’s ideologies
Eg. People can join SNP, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, UKIP and more

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13
Q

Rights of individuals- Campaigning

1E

A

People do this to persuade MPS to support their cause
Can go to demonstrations, sign petitions, send emails and more
Eg. The cancel Brexit petition received over 6 million signatures

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14
Q

Political parties- elections and campaigning

5

A 
Delivering leaflets
Party election broadcasts 
Clear focus
Strong leader
Use of the media
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15
Q

Political parties delivering leaflets

1E

A

Parties do this to spread their message and so people have a physical copy of their manifesto
Eg. During the 2016 election SNP delivered leaflets in Stirling to persuade people to re-elect Bruce Crawford as MSP

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16
Q

Party Election Broadcasts

1E

A

Parties are allocated five minutes on TV to try and gain support
Eg. the SNP created a successful comedy broadcast in 2011 ‘What has the Scottish government ever done for us?’ to convince people to re-elect an SNP government

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17
Q

Political parties clear focus

1E

A

Election campaigns need a clear focus to get their message across
Eg. in 2011 SNP campaign focused on three words ‘record, team, vision’

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18
Q

Political parties strong leader

1E

A

Campaigns need an image of strong leadership
Eg. 2016 Conservative campaign used the slogan ‘Ruth Davidson for a strong opposition’ to convey the fact that they had a strong leader

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19
Q

Political parties use of the media

1E

A

Social media is used widely by parties to communicate with the public
Political parties also try to get as much coverage as possible
Eg. in the 2016 election the Scottish liberal democrat leader did strange things to get noticed by the media and publicity

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20
Q

Influence of the media

4

A

Role
Newspapers
TV and radio
The Internet

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21
Q

Role of the media

1E

A

The role of the media is to inform and educate the public

Eg. We have Scottish news every evening

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22
Q

Newspapers

1E

A

Newspapers are allowed to be biased but their influence is declining
Eg. 82% of British adults read a regional newspaper so they have a lot of influence (like the Lennox Herald)

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23
Q

TV and Radio

1E

A

Must avoid bias so every party has a fair chance,
Ofcom is an organisation that regulate TV and radio to ensure they aren’t biased
Eg. There were complaints that Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand were being biased on the BBC so they got suspended

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24
Q

The Internet

1E

A

The Internet has a growing influence,
Politicians use it to engage with the public
Eg. 39% of Scots were influenced by social media during the independence referendum

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25
Q

Pressure Groups

3

A

Examples,
methods,
why people participate

26
Q

Examples of pressure groups
2P
2E

A

Greenpeace campaign for environmental issues
Eg. They have 11,000 members in Scotland
Amnesty international campaign for human rights
Eg. They have 7 million members around the world

27
Q

Methods of pressure groups
2P
2E

A

Petitions show that the public feel strongly about an issue and create pressure on the government for change
Eg. The snowdrop campaign gained 750,000 signatures in six weeks for tougher gun laws
Direct action is striking, Street blockades ect
It draws extra attention to a campaign
Eg. Peace protesters blocked the entrance to fast lane the nuclear base

28
Q

Why people participate in pressure groups
3P
3E

A

Are passionate about the issue
Eg. If you are Passionate about nuclear disarmament in Scotland you can join the CND who have a ‘no to Trident’ campaign

Think with more people it will gain attention
Eg. Greenpeace have 11,000 members in Scotland so have more chance to influence decision makers

They have been personally affected by the issue
Eg. People in Scotland against wind turbines being built near their houses created ‘Scotland against spin’

29
Q

Role of MSPs

3

A

Committee members
Taking part in Debates
Constituency work

30
Q

Role of MSPs- Committee members

2E

A

Most MSPs are members of at least one committee,
committees usually meet on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings,
each committee deals with a specific area
Eg. MSPs can be members of one or two committees
Eg. The Justice committee deals with crime and law in Scotland

31
Q

Role of MSPs- Taking part in debates

1E

A

MPs can put forward motions for debate,
They may do this because the people they represent have raised an issue
Eg. Debates take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays

32
Q

Role of MSPs- Constituency work
3P
3E

A

Attend events
Eg. The opening of a community center

Hold surgeries
Eg. Go to a village hall so constituents can discuss any issues

Communicate with constituents
Eg. Reply to emails and phone calls

33
Q

Representation

2

A

Positives

Negatives

34
Q

Positives of representation

3E

A

Eg. 5 out of the 10 cabinet members are women
Eg. 47% of labour MSPs are women
Eg. 2 leaders of major parties are LGBTQ: Patrick Harvey and Ruth Davidson

35
Q

Negatives of representation

3E

A

Eg. Women only make up 35% of the Scottish parliament
Eg. Only 2 out of the 129 MSPs are an ethnic minority
Eg. Only 7% of MSPs are LGBTQ

36
Q

Committees

3

A

Role,
Purpose,
Types

37
Q

Role of committees

1E

A

To examine a particular subject in detail

Eg. The Justice committee report on matters relating to crime and law in Scotland

38
Q

Purpose of committees

3P

A

To encourage public involvement in Parliament,

To enable Parliament to hold the Scottish government to account, To encourage the sharing of power

39
Q

Types of committees
2P
2E

A

Mandatory committees must exist under the rules of Parliament Eg. equal opportunities committee and finance committee

Subject committees are based on the Scottish governments responsibilities
Eg. equalities and human rights committee and health and sport committee

40
Q

AMS features

3

A

2 votes,
Hybrid voting system,
You have many representatives in parliament

41
Q

AMS features- 2 votes

1E

A

Each person gets 2 votes,
One for a candidate to represent their constituency,
One for a party to represent their region
Eg. In Stirling you could vote for the Green party for your regional vote but not your constituency vote as they didn’t have a constituency representative

42
Q

AMS features- Hybrid voting system

5P

A

Uses two different voting system to together,
First past the post for the constituency vote,
Proportional representation for the regional vote,
The candidate with the most votes wins the constituency seat,
The regional candidate is decided from the party list

43
Q

AMS features- You have many representatives in parliament

1E

A

Eg. Each person has 7 regional MSPs and one constituency MSP representing them

44
Q

AMS advantages

4

A

Proportional,
More choice,
Helps small parties,
Coalition more likely

45
Q

AMS advantages- Proportional

1E

A

The MSPs elected more accurately reflect the views of the Scottish public,
Eg. Labour got 19% of the vote in 2016 so 24 MSPs were elected which is 19% of the seats

46
Q

AMS advantages- More choice

1E

A

People have more of a choice between parties and candidates

Eg. In stirling you could vote for Bruce Crawford SNP for the constituency vote and green for the regional vote

47
Q

AMS advantages- Helps small parties

1E

A

AMS allows smaller parties a chance to gain seats

Eg. Green have 6 seats in the Scottish Parliament

48
Q

AMS advantages- Coalition more likely

1E

A

Coalition governments are more likely which means voters are represented
Eg. There has been 2 coalition governments between Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats

49
Q

AMS disadvantages

3

A

Coalition more likely,
Confusing for voters,
Breaks link between constituents and regional MSPs

50
Q

AMS disadvantages- Coalition more likely

1E

A

Coalition governments are more likely which makes laws harder to pass
Eg. There has been 2 coalition government between Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats

51
Q

AMS disadvantages- Confusing

1E

A

Voters may be confused about how it works and what MSPs to contact
Eg. People in Stirling may be unsure whether to contact Bruce Crawford (constituency) or Annabel Ewing (regional)

52
Q

AMS disadvantages- Breaks link between constituents and regional MSPs
1E

A

The party decides on the regional MSP not the voters

Eg. The Conservatives decided Murdo Fraser would be regional MSP

53
Q

Coalitions

3

A

Function,
Advantages,
Disadvantages

54
Q

Function of Coalitions

1E

A

Using the system of AMS makes coalition government more likely because it is more proportional so less likely that one party will get a majority,
To gain the majority of parties would have to gain almost 50% of the vote
Eg. There has been 2 coalition government between Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats

55
Q

Advantages of Coalitions

3P

A

Is more democratic as it represents a wider range of political opinions,
Creates a more honest and dynamic political system,
Creates a good government as their decisions will be made in the interests of most people

56
Q

Disadvantages of Coalitions

3P

A

Is less democratic as the balance of power is held by smaller parties,
Is not as open and honest because often the decisions about specific policies are made after the election,
Provides a bad government because they are unable to take a long-term view

57
Q

Majority government

3

A

Explanation,
Advantages,
Disadvantages

58
Q

Majority government- Explanation

1E

A

A majority government is when one party has an absolute majority of seats in parliament
Eg. The SNP have had a majority government 2011-16

59
Q

Advantages of Majority government
2P
1E

A

The decision making is easier so there is a greater sense of stability

The governing party can be held fully accountable for their actions
Eg. If people didn’t like the SNP freezing the council tax they could vote against them in the next election

60
Q

Disadvantages of Majority government
2P
1E

A

If the governing party has a majority on every committee it reduces committees influence

Less people are represented
Eg. 2011–16 only SNP voters were represented

61
Q

Minority governments

1

A

Explanation

62
Q

Explanation of minority government

1E

A

A minority government happens when a party has the most seats but not enough to be in charge themselves
Eg. The SNP where a minority from 2007–11 so they needed support from other parties

Modern Studies Nat 5 (1 decks)

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