Unit 3: Democracy in the UK Flashcards
1
Q
What work does an MP do in parliament. (V)
A
- Voting on new laws
- Every law that is made in the UK must be passed in the House of Commons.
- MP’s vote by walking into the ‘aye’ or ‘no’ lobby
- MP’s have cited several times on legislation relating to Brexit
2
Q
What work does an MP do in parliament. (A)
A
- Asking the PM questions.
- Prime Ministers Questions takes place every Wednesday in the Commons for 30 minutes.
- All MP’s can try to ask Rishi Sunak a question
- Sir Keith Starmer, as leader of the opposition, can ask the PM several questions as to how he’s running the country
3
Q
What work does an MP do in their constituency. (V)
A
- Visits & Social Events
- MP’s are regarded as high profile guests and many spend large amounts of time attending various events within their constituency
- It provides them an opportunity to raise their profile within the constituency and represent the electorate
- Events within the constituency are often shared with local media and MP’s are keen to get involved
4
Q
What work does an MP do in their constituency. (S)
A
- Surgeries
- MP’s hold surgeries where local people can meet their MP and ask questions or raise issues about the constituency.
- Important as it gives the MP’s a chance to meet their constituents and discuss matters of concern
- These surgeries are traditionally held on Fridays and at weekends when they are not sitting in Parliament
5
Q
Why do people participate in UK politics? (I)
A
- It’s important
- The government make important decisions that affect us all
- They believe there voice should be heard within all these important choices
- Key areas of voting include taxation, benefits, and decisions to go to war are made by the MP’s that we vote for
6
Q
Why do people participate in UK politics? (D)
A
- It can make a difference
- Some elections can be down to a handful of votes meaning every vote could change the outcome
- Voters may want to support their favourite candidate in these close cut situations
- In Larkhall, in the 2017 general election, first and third place were seperate by 360 votes
7
Q
Why do people participate in UK politics? (P)
A
- Protect their rights
- Many countries globally deny their citizens of their rights
- People use their vote in order to protect our own rights
- In recent years, further rights have been extended in the UK to allow 16-17 year old to vote in the same elections.
8
Q
Why do people not participate in UK politics? (E)
A
- Feel excluded from politics
- Many young people, woman, ethnic minorities, disabled people, and LGBTQ feel underrepresented in politics
- This makes them wonder why they should even vote when they can’t relate to any politicians
- There has only ever been 3 female Prime Ministers and never any from the LGBTQ community
9
Q
Why do people not participate in UK politics? (M)
A
- Their participation won’t matter
- Individuals on their own may not feel as if their singular voice is loud enough to make a difference.
- Many don’t feel as if joining protests or voting will change the outcome
- A few people have been protesting against the nuclear weapons at Faslane in Scotland for decades, yet no change has been made.
10
Q
Why do people not participate in UK politics? (K)
A
- They don’t know how
- Not every student in Scotland is taught Modern Studies, and in the rest of the UK it isn’t taught at all.
- This leaves a large amount of people uneducated about their rights as well as how a democracy works.
- Most people aren’t members of political parties, and roughly half of those who can vote, choose to
11
Q
Name a reserved power the UK parliament controls. (T)
A
- Taxes
- The Westminster government makes decisions for the whole of the UK about the amount of tax that we pay on things we buy.
- This includes VAT (value added tax) which is currently at 20%.
- For example, the UK government could decide to to raise or lower the amount we tax on petrol we buy
12
Q
Name a reserved power the UK parliament controls. (D)
A
- Defence
- Decisions on how much we spend on our protection and military equipment
- All decisions to go to war or use military powers go to the UK government
- The UK government decided to renew the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent costing the government over £40 billion.
13
Q
Name a reserved power the UK parliament controls. (I)
A
- Immigration
- The Westminster government makes decisions for the whole of the UK about who is allowed to come and live in the UK.
- Important laws about laws regarding refugees and asylum seekers are primarily controlled at UK level
- The UK government set the numbers for how many Afghan refugees have been allowed in to the country as a result of the conflicts
14
Q
Name a power of the PM (A)
A
- Appointing cabinet members
- They have the power to appoint or reshuffle his cabinet members
- When a PM promotes an ordinary MP, this increases likelyhood of loyalty for the PM
- In 2021 Sajid Javid was appointed to the Health Secretary following the resignation of Matt Hancock
15
Q
Name a power of the PM (C)
A
- Chair the cabinet
- They have the power to decide what the government will make laws on and all priorities
- They decide what will be discussed and most importantly what will not be discussed
- Prior to March 2020, Boris Johnson was heavily prioritising the UK leaving the EU, and thus made it a priority in his cabinet
16
Q
Name a power of the PM (L)
A
- Leader of the largest party
- There is a political system in place named the whip system
- Promotes discipline within parties and makes sure members vote how leaders want them to
- In April 2023, Rishi Sunak was able to pass the Illegal Immigration bill with the support of most his party
17
Q
What are limits of the powers of the PM? (C)
A
- Coalition
- When no one party wins enough seats at an election to secure a majority government so two parties work together to create a coalition
- Both parties will negotiate and agree on policies to be made into laws
- In 2010, the Conservative did not win enough seats to form a majority government so instead formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrat’s
18
Q
What are limits of the powers of the PM? (M)
A
- Minority government
- When a party wins but falls few seats short of majority they will form a government based on a confidence and supply agreement with another party.
- The other party will agree to support the government on important votes and negotiate to support them on all other matters
- In 2017 Theresa May formed a minority government with the DUP of Northern Ireland and in return they received £1 billion investment into Northern Ireland
19
Q
Name a role of the PM. (P)
A
- Answering question at Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs)
- Weekly in the House of Commons, must spend time answering questions from local MPs
- This is commonly held on a Wednesday in which MPs can ask these questions for half an hour starting at 12pm
- The leader of the opposition is allowed to ask 6 questions to the PM
20
Q
Name a role of the PM. (C)
A
- Leading the country
- The PM has to be able to provide an assurance and authority that they are acting to keep them safe
- They must be able to lead the country through tough times
- On the 24th of March 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to the whole of the UK and announced the beginning of a national lockdown due to covid
21
Q
Name a role of the PM. (I)
A
- The UKs leader in the international stage
- The PM is responsible for representing the UK across the world
- The PM will travel to other countries to meet their leaders and build relationships
- The PM is expected to meet and entertain foreign leaders when they visit the UK
22
Q
Name a campaign method used by politicians. (L)
A
- Leaflets
- Parties will post or members will hand out leaflets to voters
- These will contain information about policies and plans if they are to win the election
- The SNP posted thousands of leaflets across Ayr, Carrick, and Cumnock in support of local MP Alan Dorans
23
Q
Name a campaign method used by politicians. (C)
A
- Canvassing
- Candidates and party members will knock on doors of potential voters to try and win them over
- This helps parties gauge how successful they will be in the upcoming election
- For example many SNP members knocked on doors around Ayr to attempt to get people to vote for Allan Dorrans
24
Q
Name a campaign method used by politicians. (E)
A
- Celebrity Endorsements
- The party attracts and uses celebrities to promote policies
- They can influence their fans and supporters into following a political party
- Stormzy used his audience of 100000 at Glastonbury to chant “Oh Jeremy Corbyn”
25
Q
How do politicians campaign using the media? (N)
A
- Newspapers
- Candidates can appear in newspapers to spread information about policies to readers
- They can use their columns to dismiss other parties or candidates
- Ex PM Boris Johnson appeared in many newspapers which supported him such as the Sun and Daily Mail
26
Q
How do politicians campaign using the media? (S)
A
- Social Media
- Candidates and parties will post information on policies using varies online platforms
- Social media is becoming increasingly popular every day, becoming a powerful place to speak
- 42 million Britons use Facebook making it a great place for politicians to campaign on
27
Q
How do politicians campaign using the media? (T)
A
- Television
- Politicial parties can make party election broadcasts (PEB) in which each party is given a designated time slot during popular viewing times
- They can also participate in televised debates on TV
- In the run up to the 2019 election, over 4 million people watched the conservative PEB aim which Boris remade a scene from Love Actually
28
Q
Name a group which is not equally represented in the House of Commons (W)
A
- Woman
- They can face discrimination from local parties who have a preconceived idea that their ideal candidate is a straight white and old man
- Many voters view politics as strictly for men and that woman shouldn’t be involved
- In the lead up to the 2019 election, a fifth of all google searches for Jo Swinson were about her body
29
Q
Name a group which is not equally represented in the House of Commons (E)
A
- Ethnic minority
- Compared to their percentage of the population they are not equally represented in parliament
- This could be due to a lack of role models or education quality
- Rishi Sunak is the first PM which is a member of the BAME community
30
Q
Name a function of the house of lords. (L)
A
- Making laws
- Each sitting day in the House of Lords, Lords question government ministers in the chamber to find out what they are doing or propose to do
- Members debate important issues to see what the house believes is an issue
- The ‘Future Generations Bill’ introduced by Lord John Bird passed in its third reading meaning the government had to consider all long term effects of new policies
31
Q
Name a function of the house of lords. (C)
A
- Committee work
- The lords will form expert committees to unpick bills and investigate any issues
- Since a majority of Lords are experts in certain fields, it can be argued they can assess laws more effectively than MPs
- Lord Alderdice was on the Covid-19 select committee
32
Q
Name a strength of FPTP. (W)
A
- Produces a clear winner
- Due to one MP being elected per constituency it is easy to see who represents them in parliament
- One party usually wins over half the seats in commons allowing them to form a majority government
- The Conservatives win 365 seats in 2019, 80 over all the other parties combined
33
Q
Name a strength of FPTP. (U)
A
- Easy to understand
- To vote people only need to put an X next to the candidate they want to elect
- This encourages a high turnout in general elections as it is not a complicated process
- In comparison to other systems it is straight forward as others require two votes or a ranking system
34
Q
Name a weakness of the FPTP. (T)
A
- Tactical voting
- People vote based on what candidate they feel has a higher chance of winning instead of their favourite
- This is due to first past the post being a winner takes all system meaning people vote for who is the best candidate with a chance of winning
- A Labour supporter living in Ayr may look at the way others have voted and decide not to vote as it is a waste of time
35
Q
Name a role of the media. (Knowledge)
A
- Inform us
- To keep the public up to date on recent affairs
- It should tell us any breaking news or important stories
- During Covid-19 the PM gave daily briefings on how to stay safe during the tough times
36
Q
Name a role of the media. (I)
A
- Influence us
- To make us think or feel a particular way
- To persuade us to vote for or follow a certain party
- In the run up to the 2019 general election the Daily Mail ran headlines supporting Boris Johnson and the Conservative
37
Q
Name a role of the media. (E)
A
- Educate us
- They must help teach us party policies, new laws, or complex issues
- It can do this through news columns or internet social media platforms
- 2019 election, all political parties used twitter to share their election manifestos to educate voters about them
38
Q
Name ways in which the media can be influential. (A)
A
- Targeted ads
- Facebook and Instagram can use data they collect about you to give you relevant ads to your characteristics and interests
- They use this in order to influence you to think certain ways
- Younger voters were more likely to see videos of the youngest SNP MP Mhari Black in comparison to anyone else
39
Q
Name ways in which the media can be influential. (F)
A
- Front page headlines
- Print media is allowed bias so they use their front pages to support parties or campaign
- They use their covers to express their opinions in a sensationalist way and encourage the reader to agree with them
- The Daily Mail ran headlines supporting the Conservative party in the run up to the 2019 general election
40
Q
Name ways in which the media can be influential. (D)
A
- Running debates
- Even though their broadcasts cannot be biased, they run televised debates for upcoming candidates
- This gives people at home an opportunity to see who they may want to vote for
- Nicola Sturgeon took part in the leaders debate on BBC and STV in 2017
41
Q
Name methods in which pressure groups use. (W)
A
- Writing letters
- Supporters and the public write to the government and companies to gain their support
- It shows people like MPs how many people support an issue and they may not want to lose votes going against it
- Surfers Against Sewage organised a letter writing campaign about a bottle deposit campaign in which the government backed
42
Q
Name methods in which pressure groups use. (P)
A
- Protesting
- Involves people marching, gathering in large crowds, and making their feeling known
- Groups may sometimes break laws whilst protesting which can attract media attention
- Climate Extinction group organised protests to shut down cities in which climate change was then discussed in Commons
43
Q
Name methods in which pressure groups use. (L)
A
- Lobbying
- Involves meeting with decisions makers like MPs to get them to support a cause
- Can be effective as it is done in person and can be shown to the media so MPs need to think about what they say
- During the pandemic the CBI lobbied the UK government to provide the furlough scheme which insured people would still have an income whilst unable to go to work
