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5B Higher Modern Studies > Ways in which citizens can influence government decision-making, including pressure groups > Flashcards

Ways in which citizens can influence government decision-making, including pressure groups Flashcards

1
Q

What is a petition?

A

Petitions are a way to ask the Parliament to do something.

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2
Q

Who can submit a petition?

A

Any person or organisation can submit a petition: you do not have to be a certain age or live in Scotland.

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3
Q

Can MSPs submit a petition?

A

MSPs cannot submit a petition but they can support them.

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4
Q

What is the name of the dedicated Committee who consider petitions to the Scottish Parliament?

A

The Public Petitions Committee

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5
Q

What makes a petition successful?

A

It isn’t controversial.
It is in-line with current government policy.
It is supported by expert opinion.​

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6
Q

In what way can petitions influencing government decision-making?

A

They can raise awareness of an issue and deliver positive change to the way things work in Scotland.

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7
Q

What did the petition PE1393 ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’ lead to?

A

A national action plan

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8
Q

What did the petition PE 1496: ‘Bedroom Tax Mitigation’ lead to?

A

Lifting the cap of payments from the Scottish Government to offset the ‘bedroom tax’

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9
Q

What did the petition PE1285: ‘Free Calls to NHS 24 for Mobile Phones’ lead to?

A

The Scottish Government introducing a new 111 number

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10
Q

What is arguably the most significant petition submitted to the Scottish Parliament?

A

A petition organised by pupils from Firrhill High School, in 2002, that led ultimately to the ban on smoking in public places.

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11
Q

What percentage of petitions are discarded because they are invalid or do not have enough signatures to be considered?

A

50%

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12
Q

In what way are petitions limited in influencing goevernment decision-making?

A

Most petitions do not lead to changes in legislation. MSPs might express opinions during debates but there is no compulsion to change laws.​

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13
Q

Give an example that shows that having a large number of signatures does not guarantee success.

A

The petition to ‘Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU’ (UK Parliament website) attracted over 6 million signatures and, whilst it was debated in the Commons on 1 April 2019, UK Governments’ response was:​ “This Government will not revoke Article 50. We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with Parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union.”​

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14
Q

Who can Scottish citizens vote for?

A

MPs in UK elections
MSPs in Scottish Parliament elections
Councillors in local council elections.​

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15
Q

How can voting influencing government decision-making?

A

Citizens choose their representatives and can vote out representatives/parties that they do not want. ​

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16
Q

What were the most recent elections in Scotland?

A

The UK General election in 2019
The Scottish Parliamentary election in 2021
The local council elections in 2022

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17
Q

In what way is voters’ power restricted in UK elections?

A

The FPTP (First Past the Post) voting system means that many votes are wasted as there is only one winner per constituency.

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18
Q

Give an example that shows that many votes are wasted in UK elections.

A

In 2019, the Liberal Democrats got 11.6% of the vote but only got 1.7% of the seats.​

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19
Q

What is the impact of voters’ power being restricted in UK elections?

A

Elections continue to be dominated by the bigger parties. ​

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20
Q

What voting system does the Scottish Parliament use?

A

The Scottish Parliament uses AMS (Additional Member System) to election members.

21
Q

What is the Additional Member System?

A

This is a hybrid voting system which leads to a more proportional result with the views of more people being reflected in Parliament.​

22
Q

Give an example that shows that the Scottish OParliament creates a more proportional result.

A

There are 7 Green MSPs in the Scottish Parliament just now and the Scottish Conservatives won many seats through the regional voting system, including 2 in the Glasgow region – a former Labour heartland

23
Q

How many years have the SNP formed the Government in Scotland?

A

16 years

24
Q

Who can stand as a candidate in elections?

A

Citizens from any background have the right to stand as a candidate for a variety of positions - as long as they meet age and citizenship requirements. People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland for example.​

25
Q

In order to encourage only serious candidates to stand, how much is required as a deposit when submitting the nomination papers?

A

£500

26
Q

What percentage of the total votes cast do you need to receive to get your deposit returned?

A

5%

27
Q

In what way does standing as a candidate influence government decision-making?

A

The fact that citizens can stand as candidates and become representatives shows that citizens can indeed have an impact on decision-making. Once elected as representatives, individuals have a direct impact upon decisions which affect the daily lives of others.​

28
Q

What societal groups are overrepresented in the Scottish and/or UK Parliaments?

A

White people
Males
Privately educated
Wealthy

29
Q

Following the 2019 UK General election, what percentage of MPs in the House of Commons went to a private school?

A

29%

30
Q

What percentage of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament identify as disabled? Compare this to the general population.

A

In the Scottish Parliament, there are currently only six MSPs who openly identify as disabled despite making up roughly 22% of the population.​

31
Q

In what way is standing as a candidate limited in influencing government decision-making?

A

Not all citizens have an equal chance at being elected to an official position, which shows that in many ways the average British citizen is unable to affect decision-making in this manner.​

32
Q

What party might someone from a more affluent background who is critical of high public spending and high taxes join?

A

The Conservative Party

33
Q

What party might someone whose main concern is the environment join?

A

The Green Party

34
Q

How can members of parties influencing deicison-making?

A

By voting on party policies and for party leaders.

35
Q

Give an example of a ex-party leader who received substantial support from party members.

A

Jeremy Corbyn received very high levels of support from ordinary Labour party members despite not being very popular with Labour MPs in 2015.

36
Q

Who did SNP members vote as the new party leader after Nicola Sturgeon stepped down?

A

Humza Yousaf

37
Q

In what way do citizens have power when they join a political party?

A

They can have a massive internal influence. This internal party influence will affect how each political party acts in parliament.​

38
Q

What did the Conservative Party seen a major split over?

A

EU membership and Brexit

39
Q

Why did the SNP lose members?

A

The party changed its stance on NATO membership.

40
Q

Membership of which two parties rocketed following the independence referendum?

A

The SNP
The Scottish Green Party

41
Q

What two campaigns in 2016 relied heavily on ordinary citizens?

A

The Leave and Remain campaigns

42
Q

Give one of the reasons why the Brexit referendum ended in an extremely close result.

A

This was in part due to the efforts of campaigners which shows that citizens can have an influence on decision-making and can convince other people to change their minds on political issues.​

43
Q

How can ordindary citizens contact representatives?

A

Through letters or emails, phone-calls and surgeries

44
Q

Where does Kaukab Stewart hold her regular surgeries?

A

The Partick Annexe, Woodlands Workplace or Townhead Village Hall

45
Q

In what way can contacting representatives influence government decision-making?

A

Contacting representatives can lead to them asking questions in Parliament or personally addressing issues in constituencies/regions.​​
This means citizens views are taken into account and action can be taken on them.​

46
Q

In what way is contacting represenatives limited in influencing government decision-making?

A

MSPs do not always listen to the views of constituents which means that perhaps this form of participation is less influential. ​

47
Q

What did John Mason (MSP for Glasgpw Shettleston) vote against without consulting constituents?

A

The legalisation of gay marriage

48
Q

What could be a consequence of an MSP not listening to constituents?

A

It is likely that they would be voted out at the next election. ​

5B Higher Modern Studies (4 decks)

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