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Citizenship > Theme B > Flashcards

Theme B Flashcards

1
Q

How do elections work?

A

members of the public turn up at polling stations, which are open from early morning to late at night.They get given a small slip of paper and give their name and address to the people at the entrance-they then make their vote and slip their piece of paper anonymously into a box where they then get counted an a candidate wins

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2
Q

What happens on polling day?

A

polling stations open from about 8:00am to 10:00pm.Throughout the day, members of the public who have registered and decided to vote turn up, give their details in, and make their vote.Once closed, volunteers qualified to count the votes add up the amount each candidate got and then the winner of the election is announced.

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3
Q

Why are elections relevant to young peoples lives?

A

They teach young people about their political rights, and how they can use them in the near future when they are eligible. It means they are educated and prepared.

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4
Q

Who can vote?

A

To vote in a UK general election you must be:
- registered ( be on the electoral register. ) -18 years of age
-a British citizen
-a citizen of most Commonwealth countries or in the Republic of Ireland

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5
Q

Which types of people can’t vote?

A

-Members of the house of lords
-EU citizen residents in the UK
-Convicted prisoners
-People who have been found guilty of corrupt practices in an election in the last 5 years

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6
Q

Which voting system is used in UK elections?

A

First past the post:
- originated from horse racing
-candidate with the most votes wins

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7
Q

What is canvassing?

A

When the people try to persuade others to vote for their party in an election

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8
Q

What is a referendum?

A

A vote by the whole electorate on a particular issue

-gets held when a place wants more independence in a certain aspect (e.g. parliament)

-NOT WHEN THEY WANT FULL INDEPENDENCE

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9
Q

What are the advantages of FPTP?

A

-extremist parties are very unlikely to get into power
-the winner can be calculated quickly
-its simple + straightforward
-its not an expensive system to run

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10
Q

What are the disadvantages of FPTP?

A

-Voters can be disengaged with the voting process- votes can be wasted
-candidates can be elected on extremely small majorities

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11
Q

What is proportional representation?

A

A voting system where the results really closely reflect the different votes cast.

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12
Q

What are the advantages of PR?

A

-its seen as a fairer system- no wasted votes
-power in parliament is shared- every political party makes progress
-it gives much clearer results about what a nation actually wants

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13
Q

What are the disadvantages of PR?

A

-Its a more complicated system, which takes more time to complete
-extremist and fringe parties are at risk of gaining seats
-public connection may be weakened due to coalitions being formed

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14
Q

What is a coalition government?

A

A government formed jointly by more than one political party. It is formed when no one party has enough seats to form a government.

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15
Q

What are the main features of the Labour parties principles?

A

-The happiness of the people ( especially workers)
-equality within society / integration
-Managing taxes fairly
-reducing the pay gap

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16
Q

What are the main features of the Conservative parties principles?

A

-Managing immigration / the borders
-Managing taxes
-Following traditional British values
-The monarchy should remain important / valuable

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17
Q

Why is voting important?

A
  • it gives us individual power / purpose
  • it gives us a role in society
  • it allows us to use our political rights, and practice our freedom of speech etc.
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18
Q

What are back benchers?

A

MP’s who do not hold office in the government or opposition. They sit on the back benches in the House of Commons.

19
Q

What is the cabinet?

A

A group of MPs who head major government departments. It meets weekly to make decisions about how government policy will be carried out.
-Senior Ministers from the Lords are also represented.

20
Q

What are front benchers?

A

MP’s who hold office in the government or opposition. They sit on the front benches in the House of Commons.

21
Q

What is the house of commons?

A

The more powerful of the two parts of the British Parliament. Its members are elected by the public.

22
Q

What is the oppostion?

A

The political parties who are not currently in power, but want to be.

23
Q

What is the shadow cabinet?

A

MP’s from the main opposition party who ‘shadow’ MP’s who head major government departments.

24
Q

What are the responsibilities of MP’s?

A
  • to listen to peoples ideas and worries, especially those in the constituency they run
    -to be fair whilst doing so
    -to act with their conscience, for the practicality of the UK government
    -to split their time between London , and their constituency fairly
25
Q

What is a majority government?

A

A government consisting of a party which has the absolute majority of the seats available in the house of commons.
-To do this, a party needs 326 seats of the 650 available

26
Q

Whats a confidence and supply arrangement?

A

When a minority government receives support from one or more of the other parties or independent MP’s on votes of no confidence.

27
Q

What is a vote of no confidence?

A

A vote in which MP’s from all parties decide whether or not they want the government to continue

28
Q

What is a hung parliament

A

When no party wins a majority in the house of commons

29
Q

How is the UK bi-cameral?

A

Because parliament consists of 2 houses, the house of commons and the house of lords

30
Q

What is a secretary of state?

A

An MP who is in charge of a government department such as health or defence
-the minister of state is an assistant to them

31
Q

What is the legislature?

A

It makes laws. It is made up of the House of Lords and House of Commons.

32
Q

What is the judiciary?

A

It makes judgements about the law. It is made up of judges and magistrates in courts.

33
Q

What is the executive?

A

It makes policy and puts it into practice.It is made up of the prime minister, the cabinet and civil service

34
Q

What does the prime minister do?

A

-directs government policy
-manages the cabinet
-organises the government
-controls parliament
-provides national leadership

35
Q

What does the cabinet include?

A

-The treasury- runs finances
-The home office- responsible for protecting the public
-The foreign + commonwealth affairs office- responsible for the UK’s interests abroad

Departments within the cabinet are:
-Health
-Defence
-Justice
-children, schools + families
-Culture, media + sport
-transport
-business + enterprise
etc…..

36
Q

What is the monarch executive?

A

It draws up and puts policy into action, this involves the prime minister, the cabinet and civil service

37
Q

What is the difference between primary and secondary legislation?

A

Primary legislation is used to describe the main laws passed by the legislative bodies of the UK, including parliament.e.g. an Act of Parliament. Whereas secondary legislation is law created by ministers (or other bodies) under powers given to them by an Act of Parliament (primary legislation).

38
Q

How does a bill become a law?

A

In the house of commons:

-Green paper- a bill gets proposed-government might publish it- not up for discussion

-White paper (1st)-government publish the bill- no discussion but shown to parliament

-White paper (2nd)- bill read out for second time - debated + voted on

-Committee stage- 15-50 MP’s look at the bill + discuss possible amendments

-3rd reading- bill, as amended gets voted + debated on one last time

Then in the house of lords:

-3 readings also take place

-Committee stage- whole of the house of lords can debate the bill - better scrunity as no time pressure given

-if the lords amend (change the bill), it goes back to the house of commons where it can then go back and forth if there is disagreement -ping pong

-Royal assent-bill has been passed-monarch has to sign it off- monarch has no power to refuse it so it passes into law

39
Q

What is devolution?

A

The transfer of power from central to regional government (when a place is given the right to their own parliament)

-it means that people can make decisions for their own areas

40
Q

What is the British constitution?

A

-sets out how we are governed
-The UK’s is not written down- many other countries ones are
-not set in stone- changes as new laws are incorporated

41
Q

What is common law?

A

-made by judges
-decisions they make in court sometimes change the laws

42
Q

What is Statute law?

A

-a law that has been passed by parliament over a long period of time
e.g. the magna carta, joining of the EU etc.

43
Q

What is parliament sovereignty?

A

-most important part of the british constitution
-means that parliament is the chief source of law in the UK - can make + change them

44
Q

What is judicial review?

A

-further check- decisions can be challenged if there’s suspicions it hasn’t been properly made
E.g.’s
-immigration decisions
-Decisions on prisoners rights
-welfare benefit + special education decisions in local governments

Citizenship (4 decks)

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