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Ingredients Get cooking How to use the Democracy Cookbook What’s it all about? Introducing you to politics and democracy Who represents me? Your democratic representatives and what they do Who decides? The democratic institutions that affect you and how they work Making laws Who makes laws and how? Elections and referendums What are they and how do they work? Voting How to vote and why it matters Got a taste for it? Other ways to get involved Chef’s suggestions Where to go to find out more

Recipes Step by step activity guides

© The Electoral Commission 2005 ISBN 1-904363-59-8 Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:04 Page 2

Acknowledgements

The Electoral Commission would like to thank the Democracy Cookbook project reference group for their ideas, advice and guidance throughout the development of this resource: Alex Folkes – Electoral Reform Society; Fiona Booth – Hansard Society; Louise King – Children’s Rights Alliance for England; Rebecca Lynch – West Lothian Council; Tully Kewley – Public Achievement Northern Ireland We would also like to thank the following people for their support and contributions: Alyn Smith, Member of the European Parliament DAFBY (Democratic Action for Bath and North East Somerset Youth) David Cameron, Member of UK Parliament David Ford, Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Fawcett Society John Biggs, London Assembly Member Leanne Wood, Member of the National Assembly for Wales Leo Quaintmere Local Government Association London Borough of Haringey Manny Hawkes, Lewisham Youth Mayor National Assembly for Wales education unit Northern Ireland Assembly Education Service Patrick Harvie, Member of the Scottish Parliament Rachel Palma, Local Councillor Scottish Parliament education unit Shoreditch Youth Forum Solent People’s Theatre The Greater London Authority The National Youth Agency The Women’s Library Thinkbucket UK Office of the European Parliament UK Parliament Education Unit Vanessa Rogers The young people across the UK who, through their attendance at Electoral Commission ‘Do Politics’ workshops, have helped us develop this resource. The Scottish Parliament logo has been reproduced with the kind permission of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Images and logo of the National Assembly for Wales have been reproduced with the kind permission of the National Assembly for Wales. Images and logo of the Northern Ireland Assembly have been reproduced with the kind permission of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Image of the House of Lords reproduced with kind permission of the Palace of Westminster. Image of the House of Commons and ‘how laws are made’ diagram reproduced with kind permission of the House of Commons Information Office. Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:04 Page 3

Get cooking

This resource aims to provide Throughout the Cookbook you with both the ingredients you will see icons to help you. (information, facts, case studies and explanations) and the Hot recipe Points you to relevant activities recipes (activities, games and in the Recipes section discussion points) to explain to young people how our Stir it up democracy works. Suggested discussion points

The ingredients are written as fact sheets that speak directly to young people. The recipes outline how an activity works, what What it boils down to utensils you will need and how long it will Explains any tricky words take to prepare and serve. or terms we use Mix and match the ingredients and recipes to create an exciting menu of delectable Snack break democracy dishes. ‘Did you know?’ titbits of The tabs on the side of the page interesting information indicate if the information refers SCOTLAND to a particular area, for example: On the side If no area is indicated then that Case studies and section will affect the whole of specific examples the UK.

The Cookbook is designed to let you dip Note on the Northern Ireland Assembly in and out. There are no page numbers so you can reorder sections as you need. The Northern Ireland Assembly was The information contained in each of the suspended in October 2002 and the sections does cross over and we have Secretary of State for Northern Ireland provided links to related issues throughout assumed responsibility for the powers of the Cookbook. the Assembly. In this publication we have provided information about the Northern This is a work in progress. We will be Ireland Assembly as though it is still in full serving up new courses regularly on our operation. Please bear in mind that at the website www.dopolitics.org.uk to add into time of publication the Assembly was still this folder. We welcome your feedback and suspended, but the situation may change. recipe suggestions! Simply email us at For the most recent update visit [email protected]. www.niassembly.gov.uk.

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er here

What is The Electoral Commission? The Electoral Commission was set up by the UK Parliament in 2000. We are independent of government and political parties.

Our job is to: • Encourage people to get involved in our democracy. We do this by running awareness campaigns and community education programmes. • Help make the electoral system secure and easy to use. We do this by reporting on the way elections and referendums are run and advising the government on what changes are needed to make the system better. • Monitor political parties. We do this by checking party finances and making them available for the public to look at. We also officially register political parties.

Our public awareness role is set out in Section 13 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

To find out more about The Electoral Commission’s work with young people visit www.dopolitics.org.uk or email [email protected].

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I don’t do politics

When you think of the word ‘politics’ Going what comes into your mind? out tonight? Your local council Elections, voting, decisions, power, parties, monitors noise levels MPs, councils, Westminster, Holyrood, for music. The UK Stormont, Cardiff Bay, Europe, laws, rights, Parliament says at what citizens, Lords, democracy, taxes, Prime Listen age you can go into Minister, boring, arguing, ceremony... to the radio? a pub and buy a drink. Have you ever thought about how The UK Parliament politics affects you? says that radio stations need licences which determine what kind of music Clean they play. your teeth? Met The European Union someone by has regulations to the town clock? ensure that there aren’t If you have a town or too many chemicals parish council in your in your favourite area they will be toothpaste. responsible for maintaining it. Driven over a speed Bought bump? a new pair Your local council is Cooked of trainers? responsible for putting your dinner? The UK Government in road safety decides how much measures. The European Union set levels for the amount of VAT you have to Used pesticides that can be used pay on clothing. your mobile on food crops and the phone? standards required to sell meat and dairy The UK Government sells the products. licences that networks use to provide your service. They also regulate and investigate potential All of these things are affected by politics. health risks associated with phone Every day people involved in politics are technology. The European Union making decisions that affect you, your says what should happen to family and your friends. your mobile phone when you throw it away. So even if you think you don’t do politics… you do!

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Take a pinch of politics and a dash of democracy

At its simplest, politics is about how the places we live are run. Democracy is the way we decide who will do the running.

Democracy in action Stir it up Democracy happens on many levels. Have Why do you think it is important you ever taken a vote in your school, college that the public decides who has or youth club to decide something or elect political power? a leader? This is democracy in action. Discuss other ways of governing You decide who decides or running a country – what are the advantages and disadvantages? Through elections everyone who votes Can you name any countries that helps to decide who wins power and who are not democracies? loses it. If you don’t vote other people are making those decisions for you.

Because we live in a democracy we have Hot recipes certain rights that many of us take for • Agree or disagree granted, for example: the right to have • Lets get moving! political opinions that are different from the government’s; the right to join a political • Political bingo party; the right to run a campaign on an • What influences issue; and the right to protest peacefully. • Who’s in charge? There are still many places in the world • Blank blankety where people do not have the right to • Women and the vote decide who makes political decisions about their lives.

Across the world people have died fighting for the right to vote and be part of a democracy. In the UK, less than 100 years ago, people were killed during their struggles to get the vote for women. In South Africa, not until the end of apartheid in 1994 were black people able to vote for the first time. Today, many people across the world are still denied the right to vote.

When you think of all the ways in which politics affects you, you can see why it is so important to be a part of it.

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What it boils down to Snack break: • The word democracy Votes for women came from two ancient Women’s right to vote came Greek words: demos, about after a long campaign by which means people, and kratia, which a group called the Suffragettes. means rule or authority. So democracy Suffrage means the right to vote. means government by the people for the people. Countries in which the For over 10 years the Suffragettes tried public vote to choose who governs to get Parliament to change the law them are called democracies. so that women could vote. At the start of their campaign they held large • Governing is the making and meetings, shouted at politicians and enforcing of rules and laws. wrote petitions to Parliament, but this • Politics comes from the ancient did not make much difference. Greek word polis meaning city. So their methods changed and became more militant (more aggressive). They smashed windows, burned post boxes and bombed buildings. Some women were arrested and went to prison. In prison, Suffragettes went on hunger strike and refused to eat. Eventually the women were force-fed. A tube was pushed down their throat and liquid poured in. Emily Wilding Davison was a famous Suffragette. She was so committed to getting votes for women that in 1913, to highlight the campaign, she ran out in front of the King’s horse at the Derby horse race. Her skull was fractured and she died. Finally, in 1918 women over the age of 30 and women over 21 who owned houses or were married to householders got the vote. Then in 1928 all women over 21 were given the vote and in 1969 the voting age was dropped to 18 for men and women. For more information visit www.votesforwomen.org.uk.

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What is a politician?

Politicians are people who either To find out the different people stand as candidates in elections that represent you, see Who or have been voted in as a represents me? political representative. Probably the best known politician in the Snack break: UK is the Prime Minister. How do you become a politician? Most politicians are members of a political Almost anyone can become a politician. party and campaign for that party’s views. You don’t need any special qualifications, you just need to be eligible to stand as a What are they like? candidate in an election (see Elections Politicians come from a range of and referendums for more information backgrounds. To become a politician you on candidates). A politician might run in don’t need to have any particular academic many elections before they get elected. or professional qualifications. In the House of Some politicians don’t even get elected. Commons there are Members of Parliament (MPs) who have been school teachers, nurses, lawyers, factory workers, business Stir it up people and many other professions. What skills do you think In June 2005, the youngest MP was aged politicians need? Who would be 25 and the oldest was aged 80. In 2005, the your ideal politician? Would you like average age of a local councillor was 58. to be a politician? Why or why not?

Currently, there are more male politicians than female. However, the number of women in politics is on the increase. In 2005, there were 128 women elected to the UK Parliament, the highest number ever. In 2003, an equal number of men and women were elected to the National Assembly for Wales.

In 2005, 15 MPs elected to the UK Parliament were from black and minority ethnic groups. Five of these MPs were elected for the first time.

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Men and women in institutions Total Number Percentage number of women of women European Parliament UK members 78 19 24.4 UK Parliament House of Commons 646 128 19.8 Scottish Parliament 129 51 39.5 National Assembly for Wales 60 30 50 Northern Ireland Assembly 108 14 12.9

What do politicians have to do? What it boils down to Elected politicians don’t really have a defined •A candidate is a person job description, so their work varies a lot. The activities politicians might do include: who stands in an election. Usually a candidate will be a • Make speeches and take part in debates. member of a political party. They • Represent their constituents by will try to get you to vote for them! campaigning for issues that affect them. •A constituency is an electoral • Run a regular surgery where people can district. This is the area represented meet them to ask for advice or help on by a politician or politicians. An a problem or issue. electoral district might also be called a ward or a region, depending on • Campaign for their party in an election. which level of democracy we are The work of politicians depends on the talking about. See Who represents issues they are interested in, their role in me? for more information. their political party (if they are a member • Constituents are people who live of one) and the needs of their community. in a particular electoral district. •A representative is someone who speaks on behalf of, or does Hot recipes something officially for, another • Build your own politician person or group of people. Our • Political speed dating political representatives are voted • Status quota for in elections. • What do MPs do all day? •A surgery is the place you can go • Who’s who and discuss problems or issues with • If a politician was a... your representatives.

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Political parties

What is a political party? People who are not members of a party can also compete in an election – they There are over 300 political parties officially are called independent candidates. registered in the UK. You probably won’t have heard of most of them! As well as politicians, political parties have members. These are ordinary people who A political party is a group of people with take part in developing the party’s policies, similar ideas and views on how society campaign to promote the party’s views should be run. People who agree with a and help select the party’s candidates for particular party’s views can join the party elections. Joining a political party is a way and become a member. of becoming more involved in politics. You can meet people who feel strongly about What do they do? the same issues as you and work together Political parties develop opinions or policies to influence decisions. on how to tackle issues. Some parties have policies on a wide range of issues while other parties concentrate on one or two. Stir it up Can you name the biggest political Parties work to make their policies a reality by parties in the UK? If you were going gaining support from the public. Members to set up a party, what would you of political parties stand as candidates to call it? What would your policies be? influence political decisions. At election time political parties compete to win the highest number of seats (which means getting the most representatives of their party elected) to gain political power. This happens at all Snack break levels of democracy from local to European. Political parties usually choose a colour and a symbol to create Political parties help to organise decision- an identity for themselves. The main making in politics. For example, the party parties are very closely associated with with the most MPs in the UK Parliament their colours. Many political parties also forms the Government and the party have a party motto and song. At election with the second highest number of MPs time, parties will use memorable slogans is the Official Opposition. Members of to tell people why they should vote for the same party will usually vote for the them and often why they shouldn’t same outcome in debates in Parliament. vote for another party. Who is in a political party? Most candidates in elections stand on behalf of a political party. This means that Hot recipes voters broadly know what a candidate’s • Build your own political party policy is on a particular issue, based on • The ‘P’ word which party they are standing for. Not • Political spin the bottle all candidates are in political parties.

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Who can set up a political party? What it boils down to Any person can form a political party in •A candidate is a person the UK as long as they follow the rules who stands in an election. and regulations set out by The Electoral Usually, a candidate will be a member Commission. These rules are designed to of a political party. They will try to get ensure that political parties operate in an you to vote for them! honest and open way and cover what a party can be called, how it is run and how • An independent candidate is a it looks after its finances. It costs £150 to candidate standing for election who register a political party. is not a member of a political party. • The political party with the most Where do political parties get MPs in Parliament forms the UK their money from? Government. The government is divided into departments that look Political parties get their money from at different areas of work. Each membership fees, fundraising and department is headed by a senior donations. There are rules about who politician called a Minister. Departments can donate money to a political party are staffed by politically neutral civil and how the party can spend its money. servants who carry out government The Electoral Commission monitors policy and advise ministers. donations to political parties and parties • The Official Opposition is the are required to give regular financial political party with the second highest reports that are made available to number of MPs in the UK Parliament. the public. •A policy is a plan or course of action. •A political party is a group of people with similar beliefs and ideas. A political party puts forward candidates for election and hopes to persuade people to vote for them by having the best policies. •A party member is a person who has joined a political party.

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Who represents me?

In an election voters decide Working for you who will represent the people Representatives are politicians who are in their area. elected by the public and paid with public money (this comes from taxes).

This is because in the UK we have a system Depending on where you live, you may have of ‘representative democracy’. We don’t vote as many as 18 different people elected to on every issue – can you imagine how time- represent you. Your representatives are consuming that would be? Instead, we elect responsible for different layers of democracy. people to make decisions on our behalf. These people are our representatives.

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So who represents you at what layer?

Scotland Local councillors Members of the Scottish Parliament Member of UK Parliament Northern Members of Ireland the European Parliament Local councillors Scotland Northern Ireland Assembly Members Member of UK Parliament Members of the European Parliament England Northern Ireland Local councillors Member of UK Parliament Members of the European Parliament

Wales England Local councillors Welsh Assembly Wales Members Member of Parliament Members of the European London Parliament Mayor and Assembly Members

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Where do you live?

Who represents you, and who You will have different representatives for each different democratic institution (i.e. makes the decisions about UK Parliament, local council, the National issues that affect you, depends Assembly for Wales etc.) that affects you on where you live. Because of the and your area. Some representatives, such as Members of the European Parliament, way our democracy is organised look after large areas and others look after some people have more much smaller areas (local councillors). representatives than others. For some democratic institutions you will have only one representative and for others several people will represent you and your area.

Gwyneth lives in Llanelli in Wales. She is represented by 13 different people. She has three local councillors, five Members of the National In Aberdeen, Assembly for Wales, a Member Scotland, James has of the UK Parliament one local councillor, eight and four Members Members of the Scottish of the European Parliament, a Member of Parliament. the UK Parliament and seven Members of the European Parliament. That’s 17 Stuart lives in representatives. Armagh, Northern Ireland and has a ward councillor, six Northern Ireland Assembly Members, a Member of the With three local UK Parliament and three councillors, two Members of the European London Assembly Parliament. That’s 11 Members, the Mayor of representatives. London, a Member of the UK Parliament and nine Members of the European Parliament Neela, in London has 16 representatives.

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If you had a problem, question or issue, which representative would you go to for what? Let’s take 16 year-old Neela, in London, for example. Which representatives should she talk to about her issues?

London Member Member of Mayor and Local of the Parliament Assembly councillors European Members Parliament

I cycle to school and I’m worried about there is a dangerous drug abuse intersection that I have and want to to cross every day. know what’s being I want to know if a done to educate bike path could I live on a young people. be put in. council estate and they haven’t I love wearing fixed the lights My sister is very make-up, but am in the carpark sick and there are concerned that it is for months. often not enough tested on animals. nurses on duty What is being in the hospital. done to stop this?

Neela

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On the side What is a constituency? The area a politician represents is often called a constituency. Sometimes it can be called an electoral district, ward or region. Here are some examples:

Scottish Parliament constituency UK Parliament constituency Western Isles Liverpool Riverside The Western Isles consist of a 150-mile This inner city area is home to Liverpool’s chain of islands. The Western Isles only two cathedrals and the Royal Liverpool became part of Scotland in the thirteenth Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also one of century and over 60% of the population the most economically deprived areas in speak Gaelic fluently. the UK. Population: 26,100 Population: 90,363 Voter turnout in 2003 Voter turnout in 2005 UK Scottish Parliament election: 58.9% Parliament general election: 42% Represented by one constituency Member Represented by one Member of of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and Parliament (MP). seven regional MSPs.

Local council ward National Assembly for Wales constituency Blackstaff Ynys Môn Located in South Belfast, Blackstaff is a Ynys Môn is the Welsh name for the Isle Belfast City Council Ward. One street in of Anglesey. Located off the coastline of the area, called Boucher Road, is known north-west Wales, the island is largely as the ‘motor mile’, as it has one of the rural, with heavier industry centred on highest concentrations of car dealerships the port of Holyhead. in Europe. Population: 66,700 Population: 3,964 Voter turnout in 2003 Voter turnout in May 2005 Assembly elections: 51% local election: 64.7% Represented by one constituency Member Represented by one local councillor. of the National Assembly for Wales (AM) and four regional AMs.

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Snack break What it boils down to In an election, constituencies •A constituency is an where a large majority of the electoral district. This is the voters support one party are called geographical area represented ‘safe seats’ as it is very unlikely that a by a politician or politicians. An candidate from another party will get electoral district might also be called elected. Constituencies where the votes a ward or region depending on which are evenly shared among two or more level of democracy we are talking parties are called ‘marginal seats’ and about. See Who represents me? for the result of the election is less certain. more information. • Constituents are people who live in a particular electoral district. Hot recipes • Democratic institutions are where • Five pounds game your political representatives go to represent you. The UK Parliament, • Agree or disagree? your local council and the European • Conundrums Parliament are all democratic institutions. • Political lucky dip •A representative is someone who • Spot the politics speaks on behalf of, or does something officially for, another person or group • How politics affects of people. Our political representatives are voted for in elections.

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Your local councillors

Was your rubbish picked up this Different councils have different morning? Did you trip over a responsibilities depending on where you live. paving stone on your way down See Who decides? for more the street? Did you play sport information on what your local at the weekend? Where did you council does. play and what were the facilities like? Your local council makes How can I contact my decisions about all of these local councillors? issues and many more that Your local council’s website will have a list of all local councillors and their contact affect you on a daily basis. details. You can call, email or write to your councillor and you should receive a The people elected to represent you in your response. Some councillors even encourage local council are called local councillors. You you to send them text messages. elect your councillors for a four-year term. Most councillors have a surgery. It’s a time How big is their patch? when they make themselves available for local residents to talk about issues or The area covered by your local council is problems with them face-to-face. divided into smaller areas called ‘wards’. Your ward could be represented by around You could also attend a council meeting in three local councillors. In Scotland, one the public gallery at your local town or city councillor represents you. hall and watch how decisions are made. So you know what to expect, it might be useful Who are they and what do they to ask your local councillor to explain what get up to? happens in a council meeting before you go. Local councillors are responsible for your local services. Stir it up Your local councillor might: What are the issues that affect • be involved in working out how much your local area most? If you were to spend on local services; a councillor, what would you want to do to improve your community? • develop future plans for your area. These plans are called strategies; • help you to deal with any concerns you Snack break might have with local services provided by the council. There are almost 600 local councils across the UK. Many councillors work full or part-time in They represent about 60 million other jobs on top of their work as a councillor. people and spend approximately 80 billion pounds every year!

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Hot recipes What it boils down to • Mad, bad, sad or glad • Local councillors are your • Meet your local councillor representatives at a local government level. • Political speed dating • A surgery is the time and place when you can go and discuss problems or issues with • Political spin the bottle your local councillor. • Storytime • A ward is the geographical area that a local • Who’s got the power? councillor represents. Each ward can have up to three councillors (In Scotland there is one • My democracy councillor per ward).

On the side: the glamorous life of a local councillor Self-confessed Hollyoaks fan Rachel people from the Bournemouth area and Palma is 27 and lives in Bournemouth. trying to get them to see your point of view. She was elected as a local councillor in Bournemouth is a good town, and I really 2003 and represents the Kinson North feel at the moment there are great Ward. She is a Liberal Democrat. opportunities for young people to ‘I was asked by someone to stand as a get involved with planning how their town councillor. At the time I really didn’t think will look in 10 or 20 years’ time. It’s a I would win so it was a bit of a shock. I’m turning point. We have a vibrant night- afraid I did not really celebrate at the time time economy and lots of cultural things as I was so exhausted – we had been going on. I love living here by the sea. out delivering leaflets since 5.30am that Councillors tend to be older than me so it morning! After that I got a real buzz. It is was difficult at first to be taken seriously. exciting thinking that you are no longer You want things to change quickly and going to be standing on the sidelines, the slow processes of decision-making you are going to be making important can be frustrating. It is the small things decisions about your community. that are most rewarding, the day-to-day Balancing council work and my job can nitty gritty. One of the best things I have be difficult, but they are ying and yang. done was organise a Christmas grotto on As a councillor I am doing ward work, an estate in my ward. It was great fun. sitting in meetings and dealing with issues. The words that best describe me are mad, My part time job is as a florist where I make clumsy, compassionate, enthusiastic and tea, sweep the floor and make bouquets. sensitive. My aim for this year is to I enjoy both for different reasons. ensure that the council puts young There’s no glamour as a councillor really, people at the heart of decision- although I do get to go to the Mayor’s Ball! making in Bournemouth.’ It can be exciting meeting with important

DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK LONDON interests of the Who represents me? How big is their patch? How big is or MLAs. There are 25 Assembly Members of these represent an area called a Fourteen These are made up of two or constituency. For together. three London boroughs joined constituency example, the London Assembly is made up called Lambeth and Southwark and of the London boroughs of Lambeth represent Southwark. The other 11 members London as a whole. people who live in London. people who live Your London Assembly Member is there London Your the work of the Mayor. to check up on sure the plans the Mayor This is to make best makes are in the The Mayor of London and the London The Mayor of London and the in London. Assembly represent all people with a team of staff they make Together Mayor elect the up the GLA. You of London and Members of the London Assembly (MLAs) every four years. Do you live in London? Do you live how you get about. Think about or bus, by car or On the tube you feel safe in your bicycle? Do Have you local neighbourhood? or been to any cultural festivals In big sporting events lately? are London, all of these things London affected by the Greater Authority (GLA). The London Mayor and your your and Mayor London The Members Assembly London Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 21 Page 15:05 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 22

Who are they and what do they Snack break get up to? Almost a quarter of Your Assembly Members investigate the London’s population are work of the Mayor through a system of under 18 – a higher proportion committees. These include committees than in most other European cities. on the Mayor’s budget, and how it is London’s children and young people spent, economic and social development, are also very different: environment, health and public services, safety, and transport. These committees • Forty-one per cent of under-18s living write reports about their findings and in London are from a black, Asian or recommend any changes they think minority ethnic group, compared are needed to the Mayor’s plans. with 13 per cent in the UK as a whole. • Around 300 different languages Assembly Members can question the Mayor are spoken by young Londoners. directly 10 times per year and investigate issues ranging from homelessness to • Forty-eight per cent of those living in flooding, graffiti and traffic control. They are inner London are growing up in poverty, also involved in the London Development compared to 30 per cent of children Agency, the Metropolitan Police Authority and nationally – the highest rate in the UK. the Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.

See Who decides? for more Hot recipes information on what the Greater • Build your own politician London Authority does. • If a politician was a… • Political spin the bottle

How can I contact my Assembly Members and the London Mayor? What it boils down to Find out who your Assembly Member • Assembly Members are elected by is and contact the Mayor by visiting people in London to represent their www.london.gov.uk or calling 020 7983 interests and to check the work of 4100. You can email them from this London’s Mayor. website or write to them at: • The GLA is the Greater London Greater London Authority Authority and is made up of the Mayor, City Hall the Assembly and a team of staff. The Queen’s Walk • City Hall is the building that London SE1 2AA houses the GLA. The Mayor also has a special website for young people www.london.gov.uk/young-london.

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On the side: a day in the life I regularly appear in the media reacting to of a London Assembly Member events – like a transport scheme or a community safety matter that affects a Ex road protester and nagging dad John particular group of my constituents. Biggs is a Labour London Assembly I find that television is the most powerful Member for the constituency City and East. way of reaching my constituents and can ‘When I was elected to the London often provoke people to get involved. With Assembly I felt proud, humble and 600,000 people to represent it is always determined to make it work the way going to be a challenge to reach them all. I wanted. In this job no day is typical. Most mornings The London Assembly is important start with trying to make sure my daughter because it provides a voice for London gets out of bed in time for school. I go to and is responsible for its police, transport, City Hall three to six days a week. There is fire and emergency protection, and loads to read, write and plan. Sometimes economic development. It’s important I am out meeting people, or speaking at for young people because all of those conferences or events. I spend a lot of things matter to them and because it time reading so I know what’s going on makes decisions that will affect London and what I am talking about. well into the future. About twice a week I attend a committee I became a politician because I wanted meeting or the London Assembly when to stop a road being built that meant we get to question the Mayor and hundreds of homes being demolished. debate. I go to meetings most nights I didn’t succeed! But I might do if it although I try to spend some time at happened again tomorrow. Getting home so I don’t turn into a total zombie!’ something done that makes a real difference is the most exciting thing about being in this job.

I try to keep in contact with my constituents by being available, advertising my details publicly, working with community groups and attending local meetings and events.

Who represents me? Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 24 NORTHERN IRELAND , and Stormont The Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended in October 2002 and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland assumed responsibility for the powers of the Assembly. Who represents me? Strangford asking an official question in a meeting asking an official question in a of the Northern Ireland Assembly; to discuss the problems in your area; more detail including education, health and agriculture. Snack break the On 10 April 1998, Friday’ ‘Belfast’ or ‘Good signed. The majority Agreement was in Northern Ireland of political parties Agreement. After the supported the to people of Northern Ireland voted support the Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive Committee were established. North Down 4 Who are they and what do Who are they and what they get up to? between work MLAs divide their time Your in the at the Northern Ireland Assembly buildings at Parliament local work in the area they represent. MLA might: Your • respond to an issue in your area by • hold a regular surgery with constituents • debate issues; • make and change laws; and • sit on committees to look at issues in 3 East 1 Antrim 2 Down South Valley Lagan South Antrim North Antrim Bann Upper for more Armagh Newry & for short. Mid Ulster East Londonderry MLAs Who decides? 3. South Belfast 4. East Belfast Foyle See information on what the West Tyrone West Northern Ireland Assembly does. South Tyrone Fermanagh & Fermanagh 1. North Belfast Belfast 2. West How big is their patch? How big is their patch? the There are 108 elected MLAs in each Northern Ireland Assembly and person in Northern Ireland is represented by six of them. The Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern people in Northern represents all people who Ireland. The in the Northern represent you are called Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative or Assembly, Your Members of the of Members Your Assembly Ireland Northern Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 25 Page 15:05 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 26

How can I contact my MLAs? What it boils down to Find out who your MLAs are by calling • MLAs are Members of the 028 9052 1333, or by visiting Legislative Assembly. These www.niassembly.gov.uk or people are elected to represent www.wimps.org.uk. You can email them you in the Northern Ireland Assembly. from this website, or write to them at: • The Northern Ireland Assembly is Northern Ireland Assembly located at the Parliament buildings Parliament Buildings in Stormont. Belfast BT4 3XX

Hot recipes • Build your own politician • If a politician was a… • Political spin the bottle • Who’s got the power? • Voting timeline – Northern Ireland • Single transferable fruit

On the side – a day in the least a phone call to my assistant, life of a Northern Ireland who deals with much of my work and remembers all that I (as an ex-social Assembly Member worker) have forgotten about the ins David Ford MLA is Leader of the and outs of the benefits system. Alliance Party and represents South Antrim While South Antrim is not generally seen in the Northern Ireland Assembly. He is as a deprived area, many people need a former social worker and was General the help of a public representative. It is Secretary of the Alliance Party at the time regrettable, but true, that an MLA’s of the Good Friday Agreement. xxxxxxx signature on a letter can sometimes ensure ‘Even though the Assembly is suspended, a public agency treats a constituent better. a typical day for me will generally involve I generally get home for a meal with the some time at Stormont. But it tends to family at around 6pm – the advantage of start at breakfast time sitting over the a constituency that is fairly close to computer keyboard at home, catching up Stormont – but there is often an evening on emails and general correspondence meeting. Perhaps a lobby group want to while listening to the radio. speak to me, or there is a public meeting Once a week we have a full party team on a pressing issue. Many of the best meeting at Stormont, discussing current meetings involve small groups of people issues and agreeing policy on matters working to make their community better: that arise. it is always a pleasure to Many people still see Stormont as a focus hear what they are doing of activity, so there may well be a meeting and, sometimes, be or two to attend on a matter of interest. able to offer help. When I am the host of the meeting I usually The day rarely ends have to say a few words of welcome. without further emails Keeping it short is generally appreciated! to be written or phone Later, there will often be a trip to my calls to be made.’ constituency advice centre, or at

DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK WALES 22 21 East 19 20 17 South Wales 3 Monmouth 2 for more 18 16 14 Delyn 15 13 Clwyd South Central 12 1 10 South Wales Vale of 9 Glamorgan Brecon and 11 Radnorshire Clwyd West 8 Montgomeryshire 7 Wa les North Wales Who decides? 6 Mid and West Neath Nant Conwy Meirionnydd information on what the See 5 Conwy 4 West Ceredigion Who represents me? and Dinefwr National Assembly for Wales does. National Assembly for Wales South Wales Carmarthen East Newport East Newport West Cardiff North Cardiff West Cardiff Central Cardiff South and Penarth Gower Lianelli Caernarfon 20 21 22 17 18 19 Ynys Mon Carmarthen . Pe mbrokeshire We st and South o rfaen Pontypridd Cynon Valley Merthyr Tydfil Caerphilly Islwyn Rhondda Blaanau Gwent T 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Preseli Pembrokeshire you live in Wales and the other four five of them. Alyn and Deeside Vale of Clwyd Vale Wrexham Swansea West Swansea East Aberavon Bridgend Ogmore particular 1 Assembly Constituency boundary Regional Constituency boundary 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 National Assembly for Wales. These Assembly Members, Regional Constituency for short. You elect your for short. You AMs As you can see on the map, a Regional Constituency covers a much larger area than an Assembly Constituency. areas are called constituencies. areas are called constituencies. One of your AMs represents your Assembly Constituency represent your geographic area in Each AM looks after a How big is their patch? National There are 60 elected AMs in the and if Assembly for Wales you are represented by Do you live in Wales? Do you study at school or college? Have you study at school or college? Do you in Wales? Do you live or near a in the countryside doctor lately? Is your home visited your your area, the major industries in attraction? What are famous tourist National you get a job? The is available to help and what training issues. decisions about all of these makes Wales Assembly for represents The National Assembly for Wales people who The all of the people in Wales. represent you in the are called Wales years. Assembly Members every four Your Assembly Members for Wales Members Assembly Your or Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 27 Page 15:05 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 28

Who are they and what do they Snack break get up to? The National Assembly Your AMs divide their time between work at for Wales is one of few the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff legislative bodies in the world and local work in the area they represent. with equal representation of men and Your AM might: women. In the 2003 election there were • respond to a problem in your 30 female and 30 male Assembly constituency by asking the minister Members elected. responsible in the National Assembly for Wales an official question; What it boils down to • hold a regular surgery with constituents • AMs are Assembly to discuss the problems in your area; Members. They are elected • sit on an Assembly committee to look by people in Wales to at issues in more detail; and represent them in the • influence how schools and hospitals National Assembly for Wales. are run in Wales. • An Assembly Constituency is a geographical area that your AM represents directly. How can I contact my • A Regional Constituency is a Assembly Members? larger regional area represented Find out who your AMs are by calling by a number of AMs rather than 029 2082 5111 or by visiting the the smaller Assembly Constituency. National Assembly for Wales website • A surgery is where you can go www.wales.gov.uk. You can email them and discuss problems or issues from this website or write to them at: with your AM. National Assembly for Wales Cardiff Bay Cardiff CF99 1NA Hot recipes • Build your own politician • If a politician was a… • Political spin the bottle • Voting timetable – Wales • Electing the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales

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On the side – so most of my time is taken up travelling. a day in the life of a Weekends vary quite considerably, but not many are free! Welsh Assembly Member The best thing about being an AM is the Leanne Wood is 35 and was elected as platform it gives you to pursue political an Assembly Member (AM) in 2003 for issues you feel strongly about and to South Wales Central. She is a member be taken seriously. In the Social Justice of Plaid Cymru. Committee we are currently looking at ‘I was a probation officer, a women’s aid services for substance misusers on support worker and I lectured in social behalf of Plaid Cymru. policy and social work at Cardiff Young people can get involved in politics University before I became an AM. by doing more than voting in elections. My friends persuaded me to stand. If people feel strongly about an issue they I have two types of ‘typical day’. One is should start campaigning on it, either by a ‘constituency day’ which can involve starting a campaign or joining an existing meetings with constituents or interest one. I think campaigning groups can groups and responding to letters and have a lot of clout with politicians. Being emails. I try my best to respond to every a member of a political party can give query I get, whether they come from you a bit of influence as well. constituents or not. I may have missed a I first voted in the Rhondda in the 1992 few, but I aim to answer all correspondence. general election. It was important to me to I do get quite a lot, mostly on email, vote. I was away at the time (campaigning which makes it a bit easier to answer. in Ceredigion) and Another type of day is an ‘Assembly had to travel over 100 day’. These days usually involve a long miles to use my vote. meeting in the morning and meetings I felt quite grown in the afternoon and evenings as well! up. I was doing I usually get home about 10pm. something that Then there are weekends, which are often was important a lot quieter, but could involve a full day’s and significant.’ meeting in Aberystwyth or a protest march

Who represents me? Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 30 SCOTLAND Lothians for more Mid Scotland and Fife South of Scotland North East Scotland Glasgow Who decides? information on what the does. Scottish Parliament See Who represents me? Highlands and Islands West of West Scotland Central Scotland How big is their patch? in the Scottish There are 129 elected MSPs live in Scotland you and if you Parliament Each MSP are represented by eight of them. Scotland. looks after a particular area in One These areas are called constituencies. represents your Parliamentary of your MSPs represent Constituency and the other seven your Regional Constituency. The map shows the Scottish Parliament Regional Constituencies. These cover a much larger area than Constituency. a Parliamentary Do you live in Scotland? What is your local hospital like? Are you local hospital like? in Scotland? What is your Do you live close? do nightclubs and pubs or training? What time in education your area? happening in major building developments Are there any all of these issues. decisions about makes Parliament The Scottish represents all people The Scottish Parliament you in in Scotland. The people who represent are called Members the Scottish Parliament for short. or MSPs of the Scottish Parliament, Your Members of the of Members Your Parliament Scottish Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 31 Page 15:05 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 32

Who are they and what do they get up to? Hot recipes • Build your own politician Your MSPs divide their time between work at the Scottish • If a politician was a… Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh • Political spin the bottle and local work in the area they represent. Apart from responding • Voting timeline – Scotland to queries and from people in • Electing the Scottish Parliament and your local area your MSPs might: the National Assembly for Wales • respond to an issue in your area by asking an official question in the Scottish Parliament; • hold a regular surgery with What it boils down to constituents to discuss the • MSPs are Members of problems in your area; the Scottish Parliament. • debate issues; They are elected by people in Scotland to represent them in the • make and change laws; and Scottish Parliament. • sit on committees to look • A Parliamentary Constituency is at issues in more detail. a geographical area represented by one MSP who has been elected by How can I contact my MSPs? people in that area. Find out who your MSPs are by looking • A Regional Constituency is a larger them up on the Scottish Parliament website regional area represented by seven www.scottish.parliament.uk. You can MSPs elected by a list system. See also find your MSPs’ email addresses Elections for more information on on this website. how this system works. You can also contact your MSPs by • A surgery is where you can go writing to them at: and discuss problems or issues with your MSP. The Scottish Parliament Edinburgh EH99 1SP

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On the side – a day in the life of a Member of the Scottish Parliament Patrick Harvie is a Green Party regional These are MSP for Glasgow. He enjoys the range followed by of issues he has to cover as an MSP questions for but doesn’t like the early mornings! the other ministers. ‘As an MSP I spend Tuesday to Thursday Afterwards there in Edinburgh at the Parliament and Fridays is a debate and at 5.00pm it is and Mondays in my office in Glasgow. decision time. This is when we get to vote When I’m in Edinburgh I am often at on what motions should be taken forward my desk at 8.00am – too early! I usually and acted on. have a breakfast meeting with other Before making a decision it is important MSPs from the Green Party at 8.30am. to look at all the evidence. I might consult These are followed by debates in the with organisations or people who have Scottish Parliament chamber. specialist knowledge. For me the highlight of the week is I also have to take into account my party’s Thursday when we meet to debate standpoint. I am a MSP because my party motions in Parliament. A motion usually chose me to be there. The electorate has something to do with a new law didn’t vote me in as an individual they that is being passed so it’s important elected my party. Therefore the party’s that there is a good debate about it. standpoint on issues has a big impact At 12.00pm there is First Minister’s on how I make my decisions. questions where all the MSPs get to As an MSP there is a huge variety of question him on the work of the Scottish issues that you need to understand. Executive. Afterwards the cross party There is always a new topic to get your groups meet. These groups give MSPs teeth into. One of the great things about from all parties a chance to meet with being an MSP is that there is no members of the public and outside such thing as a typical day.’ organisations to discuss an issue such as children and young people, sport or the Scottish economy.

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Your Member of Parliament

Have you been shopping lately? How far did your money go? Are you old enough to vote, go to the pub or drive a car yet? Do you know which drugs are illegal? Have you thought about the UK’s relationship with other countries across the world? All these issues are affected by the UK Parliament.

The UK Parliament impacts on all the people How can I contact my MP? in the United Kingdom. The person who represents you in the UK Parliament is called Find out who your MP is by looking a Member of Parliament or MP for short. them up on the UK Parliament website www.parliament.uk. You can also find your How big is their patch? MP’s email address and website here. Each MP represents an area of the UK called If you would like to meet with your MP, a constituency. You have one MP to represent their website should have details of their your constituency. The UK is currently next surgery, or you can call the office divided into 646 constituencies with around they have in your area. 90,000 people living in each one. You elect your MP for a maximum of You can also contact your MP by writing five years. to them at: House of Commons Who are they and what do they London SW1A 0AA get up to? Your MP splits their time between work at Snack break the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, The Prime Minister is an MP London and local work in your area. Your and represents a constituency. That MP might: means you can’t vote directly for the • help address the issues of people living Prime Minister unless you live in their in your area by holding a regular surgery; constituency. The Prime Minister is • help make a law by speaking in a debate usually the leader of the political party in the House of Commons or sitting on that has the most MPs (or seats) a committee in Parliament; in Parliament. • keep an eye on what the Government is doing by asking an ‘official’ question in the House of Commons; • find out what the people in your area Hot recipes think about a particular issue; and • What do MPs do all day? • support a campaign to change the law. • Build your own politician • If a politician was a… See Who decides? for more • Political spin the bottle information on what the UK • Voting timeline – UK Parliament does.

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xxxxxxx What it boils down to • A constituency is an electoral district. This is the geographical area represented by your MP. • The Houses of Parliament consist of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and are based in Westminster, London. • An MP is a Member of Parliament. They are elected by people across the UK to represent them in the UK Parliament. • A surgery is where you can go and discuss problems or issues with your MP.

On the side – a day in the life of a Member of Parliament Conservative MP for Witney, David Cameron, says there is no such thing as a typical day or week in an MP’s life. Here is a taste of some of the things he gets up to.

‘When Parliament is sitting I spend Monday to Thursday in Westminster. Parliament doesn’t run 365 days a year. We have a summer recess and also break over Christmas and the New Year.

From Thursday night to Monday morning I spend time in my constituency, Witney. On Fridays I generally visit schools, meet with people, hold surgeries to hear any problems or issues from my constituents, make speeches, answer questions and ask lots of questions too.

My other weekdays go something like this... I am a father so from 7am to 8am there is childcare chaos. I spend from 9am to 11.30am dealing with my office paperwork, answering emails and organising meetings.

11.30am to 1pm, I try to be in the House of Commons, listening to questions, debates and statements from other MPs. Meetings, paperwork, emails, preparing speeches, giving speeches and attending All-Party meetings, dominate the rest of my afternoon. You name it!

I probably speak at events in the evening a couple of times a week, sometimes more.

I travel a lot going back and forth between my constituency and my office in Westminster. The worst thing about being an MP is the amount of time I spend away from my family.’

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Your Members of the European Parliament

Take a deep breath. How does it feel? Drink a glass of water. What does it taste like? Pick up an apple. What pesticides were used on it and how much did it cost?

The quality of the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we use for drinking and bathing are all affected by decisions made in the European Union.

Because the UK is part of the European Union we Number of MEPs elect people to the European Parliament to help in your area: make decisions about issues that affect Northern Ireland 3 people in Europe. The people who Scotland 7 represent you in the European Wales 4 Parliament are called Members Eastern 7 of the European Parliament East Midlands 6 or MEPs for short. You elect London 9 your MEPs every five years. North East 3 North West 9 South East 10 How big is their patch? South West 7 We have 78 MEPs representing the Scotland West Midlands 7 UK in Europe. The UK is divided into Yorkshire & the Humber 6 12 European Parliamentary regions and your electoral region could have up to North East nine MEPs representing it. Newcastle The number of Northern Carlisle Ireland North MEPs you have West Yorkshire & depends on how the Humber many people York Leeds live in your region. Manchester Sheffield Look at the map East Midlands Nottingham to see how many Derby West Leicester MEPs represent Midlands Norwich Birmingham Northampton your area. Ipswich Cambridge Wales Eastern Oxford Bristol London Dover Salisbury South East South West Portsmouth Bournemouth Exeter

Truro

Isles of Scilly Gibraltar

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Who are they and what do they See Who decides? for more get up to? information on what the MEPs make sure that your region is European Parliament does. represented in Europe when it comes to issues like trade and the environment. They check the work of other decision-making How can I contact my MEPs? bodies of the European Union, and share some responsibilities for introducing new You can find out who your MEPs are laws. They also keep a close watch on the by visiting the UK Office of the European European Union’s budget and spending, Parliament website www.europarl.org.uk. as well as developing their own ideas and This website has the contact details of plans on issues affecting Europe. all MEPs in the UK.

Here are some examples of what your MEP Alternatively you can ring the UK Office of might do: the European Parliament on 020 7227 4300. • help you find out more about Erasmus, a European Union programme that means Hot recipes you can study in any member country; • European challenge • respond to your letters about a European • Europe vision Union decision on food labelling; • Build your own politician • consult with people in your area about what you think of a European Union decision about working hours; and Snack break • campaign for European Union funding Your MEPs are elected for a ‘fixed term’. for community projects in your area. This means that elections have to happen every five years. The first elections to the European Parliament happened in 1979. What it boils down to • An MEP is a Member of the European Parliament. These people represent you in the European Parliament. • The European Union is a group of 25 countries that have agreed to work together to promote shared interests and goals. • A European Union Parliamentary region is an electoral district. This is the area represented by your MEPs. The UK is divided into 12 regions.

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xxxxxxx On the side – a day The most exciting thing about being an in the life of an MEP MEP is that I have the chance to use my office to help people in Scotland, be they Scottish National Party MEP for Scotland running businesses, looking for grants or Alyn Smith never leaves home without his trading in the EU. I can act on behalf of MP3 player (Belgian and French radio have people having a hard time and work for never even heard of Franz Ferdinand) and them to make sense of the Brussels maze. says that he didn’t become an MEP for When we can solve a problem for a the glamour. constituent I feel the job is worth doing.

‘Glamour…? Politics was once described The most frustrating thing about being as ‘showbiz for ugly people’ and I think an MEP is getting the European Union to that’s the best description anyone has recognise the role of the Scottish Parliament. come up with. Trust me you would not do Scotland has a unique legal system and this for the glamour. I became a politician control over health, the environment, to make a difference and because I saw education, law and order and umpteen a need for more powers in Scotland to other issues. make the country work better for people. I think the most productive things the I spend an average of three days a week European Parliament has come up with in Brussels in either committee or political for young people are student exchange group meetings, or catching up on programmes like ERASMUS. More correspondence or phone calls. The rest generally the Parliament has passed of the time I spend in Scotland meeting rules on air quality, water quality, the people or working from my offices in environment generally, health and safety, Inverness, Glasgow or Edinburgh. When working time rules the European Parliament is in Strasbourg, and all manner of one week a month, I spend from early other areas affecting Monday to late Thursday there. all citizens of the 25 states of the EU.’

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xxxxxxx Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:05 Page 41

Who decides?

Different levels of our democracy • The European Union’s decision-making bodies including the European Parliament, make decisions about how our Council of Ministers and European society is run. That’s because Commission, make decisions affecting some issues need to be dealt the whole of Europe. with at a local level and other issues need a regional, UK-wide Stir it up Think of five different issues such or European point of view. as education, defence, animal rights, sports facilities and housing. Which It wouldn’t make sense for the same people institutions make decisions about these to make all the decisions. You wouldn’t issues? Are decisions made by more than one institution, and if so, how? expect the UK Parliament to decide where to put a zebra crossing in your local area, and you wouldn’t expect your local councillor to decide whether the UK was going to Hot recipes war or not. • Five pound game Who does what? • Conundrums • Local councils make decisions about • Democracy tree services affecting your local area. • Mad bad sad or glad? • The National Assembly for Wales • Spot the politics and the Welsh Assembly Government cannot currently pass new laws but can • Storytime develop and implement existing laws. • Turning opinion into action • The Northern Ireland Assembly and • Ringing the changes the Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly can make decisions and laws about Northern Ireland, although on some issues the UK Parliament still decides. What it boils down to • The Scottish Parliament and the • The Northern Ireland Scottish Executive make decisions and Assembly, Scottish laws for Scotland, although on some Parliament and National Assembly for issues the UK Parliament still decides. Wales are called devolved institutions. • The UK Parliament and the UK People living in that country elect them Government make decisions about the and each devolved institution has United Kingdom as a whole. The power different powers. to make decisions on some issues • Devolution means that power to make has been devolved to the Scottish some decisions has been transferred Parliament, National Assembly for from for one democratic institution to Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly. another democratic institution.

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The Council of Ministers European Union

European European Commission Parliament

UK Scottish County Parliament Northern Parliament Ireland Councils Assembly

District Unitary Councils National Authorities Assembly

ean institutions for Wales N p a o tio r n u al ins E titu tion London London s Boroughs Assembly Metropolitan egional in Borough R stitutio ns l gover Councils ca nm Greater o en L t London Town Authority Councils

Mayor of Community London Parish Councils Councils Scotland and Wales only

This tree shows the different layers of agreements with other member countries democracy that might affect you. to combat crime across borders. The UK Each institution has its own rules and Parliament has its own laws to combat processes for making decisions. On many crime and disorder. Anti-social behaviour issues the different institutions have to work orders are one example of a UK-wide together and discuss their decisions with policy which is dealt with by your local each other. council (with help from the police). For example, the European Union, the UK The decisions of each of the different Parliament and Government, devolved institutions will affect different areas – so institutions and local councils all share while your local council’s decisions may responsibility for decisions affecting crime. only have an impact on your city, decisions Each institution has different powers that made by the European Commission can limit the decisions it can make. The UK affect all the countries that are members as a member of the European Union has of the European Union.

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Who makes decisions in your local area? Your local council

Do you live in a town or city, or See Who represents me? in the country? The needs of for more information on the your community will be different role of your local councillor. depending on where you live. Your local council deals with In most councils a small number of matters that directly concern councillors form a cabinet or executive. your local area. While this is the top decision-making group of the council, any decisions they make are guided by broad policies or plans that have Local councils are also known as been agreed by the council as a whole. local government or local authorities. Depending on where you live your local The other councillors check the work of council is responsible for some or all of the executive and approve the council’s the following things: budget. Councillors also attend a range of committees that look at different areas • planning decisions; of the council’s work in more detail. • local roads and footpaths; It’s important to know which local council • waste and recycling; covers your area and what services they provide, in case you have any • youth and leisure facilities; complaints or issues to bring up with • libraries; your local representative. • social services; • council housing; Stir it up • education services; Millions of people work in local • managing parks and other public places; councils across 700 different services. Do you know anyone who works for • looking after the streets; your local council? Think about any of • checking up on and regulating local your friends or family who might work businesses; and for your local council – what jobs do they do? • registering voters and running local elections.

Our elected representatives at the local council are called councillors. People in your area elect them for a four year period.

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Types of local councils As well as local councils, the UK also has around 10,000 parish, town and community There are different kinds of local councils councils. These represent the most local in the UK and they look after different level of local government and often cover services. The kind of council you have small rural areas. will depend on where you live. Parish councils in England are responsible If you live in London or one of the larger for providing and maintaining allotments, cities of England, you will have a London public clocks, public halls, pathway lighting Borough or Metropolitan District Council and litter bins. They often need permission (MDC). MDCs cover places like Birmingham, from a larger council to provide these Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. These services. There are also community councils provide all local services. councils in Scotland and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Wales, you will have a unitary authority. There are also Hot recipes unitary authorities in some medium-sized • Agree or disagree? towns and cities in England, like Nottingham or Reading. These councils • Conundrums have the same powers as the London • Democracy tree Boroughs or Metropolitan Districts, but may cover a wider area, for example Bath and • Meet you local councillor North East Somerset. In Northern Ireland • Turning opinion into action there are 26 local authorities with limited powers to deliver local services.

If you live in a mostly rural or semi-rural part of England, local government is split between a county council and a district council. County councils cover large areas, like Devon or Kent, and provide about 80% of services for that area. District councils cover smaller areas and provide more locally-based services.

Some local councils in England also have a directly elected mayor with real powers.

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What it boils down to • Councillors are your representatives at local government level. • A ward is the geographical area that a local councillor represents. Each ward can have up to three councillors. • The Cabinet or Executive is the highest decision-making body in the council. • A unitary authority is a type of local council where official power is given to one ‘tier’ of local government. This single authority deals with all matters in a local area. Other areas in the UK have a ‘two-tier’ system where there is a county council (large area) and district councils (smaller area or large town). • A county council is one half of the ‘two-tier’ system of local government in England. County councils work alongside district councils to provide local services. • District councils are the other half of the ‘two-tier’ system. They work alongside county councils to deliver local services. • A directly elected mayor is the political leader of a council, elected by voters in that area. This is different from the ‘ceremonial’ mayor who is usually appointed by a council. • Local government and local authority are other terms used to describe a local council.

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Who makes decisions for London? The Greater London Authority

Who does it affect? See Who represents me? The Greater London Authority (GLA) makes for more information on decisions that affect the whole of London. the Mayor and London How old is it and how did it Assembly Members come about? In 1997 a referendum was held to ask the What it boils down to people of London if they wanted a new • Assembly Members are elected by level of government especially for London. people in London to represent their People voted yes and in 2000, the Mayor interests and to check the work of of London and London Assembly were London’s Mayor. elected. Along with a team of over 600 staff, the Mayor and the London Assembly • The GLA is the Greater London make up the Greater London Authority. Authority and is made up of the Mayor, the Assembly and a team of staff. Where is it based? • City Hall is the building that The headquarters of the Greater London houses the GLA. Authority are located at City Hall next to Tower Bridge in London. Hot recipes What is it responsible for and • Agree or disagree how are decisions made? • Democracy tree The Mayor makes plans for London’s future and is responsible for London’s transport, • Turning opinion into action economic development, culture, healthy living, police and fire brigade.

The London Assembly keeps a check on the Mayor’s plans and decisions to make sure they are what’s best for London. How can I see it? You can visit London City Hall from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and sometimes at weekends. For more information visit the GLA website www.london.gov.uk or call 020 7983 4100.

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xxxxxxx NORTHERN IRELAND . excepted . This means transferred matters reserved matters Who decides? . This means that they are The Northern Ireland Assembly was The Northern Ireland Assembly the suspended in October 2002 and Ireland Secretary of State for Northern assumed responsibility for the powers of the Assembly. that the Assembly has to get permission from the UK Government to make decisions about these issues. such Issues that are nationally important as defence and taxation are matters the responsibility of the UK Parliament. Issues such as policing and criminal law Issues such as policing and criminal are called • sport and leisure; • tourism; • country planning; town and • transport and roads; and • water and flood defence. These issues are called historical buildings; What is it responsible for? to make The Assembly has the power decisions and pass laws about the following issues that affect Northern Ireland: • agriculture; • ancient monuments and • culture; • economic development; • education and training; • the environment; • health and health services; • housing; • industry; • local government; • social services; Where is it based? just The Assembly is based at Stormont, also outside Belfast. Assembly Members have offices in their local areas. Who does it affect? Who does it in Northern Ireland. All people living it and how did How old is it come about? was The Northern Ireland Assembly Agreement, established by the Good Friday of people in and endorsed by the majority held on Northern Ireland in a referendum met on 22 May 1998. The Assembly first started on 1 July 1999, but its work officially Parliament 1 December 1999 when the UK transferred power to the Assembly. Who makes decisions decisions makes Who Ireland? Northern for Assembly Ireland The Northern Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 49 Page 15:06 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 50

Who is in the Northern Ireland Assembly?

MLAs elect a Presiding Officer, also known as the Speaker, who chairs the Assembly. MLAs are Members of the The Speaker is impartial, which means that Legislative Assembly. They are they have to treat all of the political parties elected by people in Northern in the Assembly fairly. Ireland. Where they sit in the chamber depends on which political party they belong to. There are 108 of them.

This room is called the Assembly Chamber. This is where all MLAs come together to debate issues and make decisions.

The Assembly elects a The Assembly gives executive power to an Executive First Minister and Deputy Committee which makes many of the Assembly s First Minister. They have day-to-day decisions. This committee is made up to stand for election jointly. of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister along This is a cross-community with a minister for each of the 10 government vote and must have departments. The 10 departmental ministers support from Nationalist are appointed by the Assembly and are each and Unionist MLAs. responsible for a special area of work. See the list overleaf to find out what these ministers do.

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How are decisions made? The Northern Ireland Executive The Assembly makes decisions through The Executive of the Northern Ireland committee meetings and plenary sessions. Assembly is made up of the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and the 10 A committee is made up of a small group departmental ministers. The Executive of MLAs who look at a particular issue in is the management of the Assembly. lots of detail. They might get input from the community and experts working on the The Executive proposes new laws that are issues they are looking at. Committees give looked at and debated by the Assembly. MLAs an opportunity to look closely at what It also sets out the government’s plans is being done in each of Northern Ireland’s and budget for each year, which are also government departments. They look into approved by the Assembly. proposals for new laws for Northern Ireland and suggest changes. Each departmental minister is responsible for a special area of work. These are: There are 10 of these departmental • agriculture and rural development; committees and membership is appointed • culture, arts and leisure; from all political parties to reflect the balance of political groups within the Assembly. • education; • employment and learning; There are also a number of other • enterprise, trade and investment; committees that deal with the day-to-day • environment; running of the Assembly. • finance and personnel; A plenary session is a meeting of all MLAs. • health, social services and public safety; These sessions give MLAs a chance to • regional development; and propose motions for debate and question • social development. the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and other Executive Ministers on the work they Ministers must answer questions from have been doing. They can also ask the MLAs about their policies and activities. Assembly to look at an urgent issue that will affect people in Northern Ireland. Snack break Other things discussed in plenary include: The Northern Ireland • the Assembly budget; Assembly’s logo is the linen • policies proposed by Executive Ministers; or flax plant. There are six flowers to represent the six counties of Northern • reports written by committees; Ireland. The logo is a reminder of the • local constituency issues; importance of linen in Northern Ireland’s farming and manufacturing • European Union issues; and history. The furnishings of the Assembly • any other issues that impact upon chamber are the same Northern Ireland. blue as the logo and the walls of the chamber are lined with linen.

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How can I see it? Hot recipes The Assembly building is open to the • Build your own politician public. To organise an educational tour for a group contact: • Who’s got the power? The Education Service • Build your own Parliament Room 401F or Assembly Parliament Buildings • Voting timeline – Northern Ireland Stormont Belfast BT4 3XX

Tel: 028 9052 1183 or 028 9041 8332 Fax: 028 9052 1980 Email: [email protected] Website: http://education.niassembly.gov.uk

What it boils down to • The Executive is made up of Ministers, the most senior MLAs. • Executive power means that the Executive Committee has power to carry out decisions made by the Assembly. • The First Minister is the head of the Northern Ireland Executive. • MLAs are Members of the Legislative Assembly. They are elected by people in Northern Ireland to represent them in the Northern Ireland Assembly. • A motion is a proposal for action put forward by an MLA for debate and decision by the Assembly. • The Speaker is the chairperson of the Assembly.

DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK WALES Who decides? rural development; including of Wales, culture and heritage language; and the Welsh Wales. communication technology in Stir it up The UK Government is looking at proposals to give the National the power to make Assembly for Wales Should it’s own laws in certain areas. new the Assembly be able to create as it is? laws or is the balance correct •Wales; developing transport in • and promoting agricultural schemes •promote the developing schemes to • and developing information ales. Assembly Members hold in Wales; European Union; in Wales; tackling homelessness; environment and conserve wildlife and natural habitats; The Assembly can’t currently make laws but it can make decisions about: • education and training in Wales; • developing and funding NHS services • dealing with funding from the • dealing with funding for local authorities • including housing policy, • sponsoring bodies that protect the What is it responsible for? It covers a range of issues that affect W Where is it based? in The Assembly buildings are based but Cardiff Bay, Who does it affect? Who does it in Wales. All people living it and how did it How old is come about? was for Wales The National Assembly voted established after people in Wales 1997. yes in a referendum on 18 September pass went on to After this the UK Parliament Act Wales a law called the Government of Assembly 1998, which set up the National to the National The first elections for Wales. were held in 1999. Assembly for Wales and have regular meetings across Wales Assembly offices in their local areas. A new Bay and is building is being built in Cardiff due to be completed by 2006. Who makes decisions for Wales? decisions makes Who for Wales Assembly National The Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 53 Page 15:06 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 54

Who is in the National Assembly for Wales?

AMs elect a Presiding Officer AMs give executive power to the First Minister who chairs the Assembly. The who is elected by the whole Assembly. They Presiding Officer is impartial, usually come from the political party with the which means that they have most Assembly Members. to treat all political parties in the Assembly fairly.

This room is called the debating chamber. This is where all AMs come together to debate issues and make decisions.

The First Minister chooses individual Assembly AMs sit in the debating Ministers who form the Cabinet. chamber according to their party grouping. These Ministers form the Welsh Assembly Government Unlike the UK Parliament and make many of the Assembly s day-to-day decisions. they have access to They are responsible for developing all policies and computers to view programmes for areas that have been devolved to the Assembly documents National Assembly for Wales. while they are debating issues. There are 60 AMs in the Assembly.

The new National Assembly for Wales building

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How are decisions made? Snack break The Assembly makes decisions through The National Assembly for committee meetings and plenary sessions. Wales’ logo is based on the A committee is made up of a small group dragon – a traditional symbol of Wales. of AMs who look at a particular issue in detail. They might get input from the community and experts working on the issues they are looking at. There are two types of committees: • Subject committees: each committee concentrates on a particular subject area such as education or culture. Members are elected from all political parties to What it boils down to reflect the balance of political groups within the Assembly. • AMs are Assembly Members. They are elected by people in Wales to represent • Regional committees: there are four of them in the National Assembly for Wales. these to represent the needs of different areas of Wales. These areas are North • The Cabinet is made up of Assembly Wales; Mid and West Wales; South West Ministers who are the most senior AMs. Wales and South East Wales. • Devolved means that power to make some decisions has been transferred. A plenary session is a meeting of all AMs. These meetings give AMs a chance to • Executive power means that the question the First Minister and other First Minister manages the work of the Assembly Ministers on the work they Assembly. It is a bit like the role of a have been doing. chief executive of a company. • The First Minister is the head of AMs can also propose a motion for a the Welsh Assembly Government. short debate at the very end of a session or even propose that the Assembly should • Motions are proposals for a debate immediately consider a matter of urgent • A policy is a plan of action. public importance. • The Presiding Officer Other things discussed in a plenary is the chairperson of session include: the Assembly. • what the Assembly spends its budget on; • motions proposed by political groups Hot recipes who are not in the Assembly; • Build your own Parliament • reports written by committees; and • Who’s got the power? • issues relating to the European Union. • Voting timeline – Wales

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The Welsh Assembly Government Key events The National Assembly for Wales has Plenary meetings happen on Tuesday given many of its powers to its First and Wednesday afternoons. Minister. The First Minister leads a Cabinet of eight Ministers. The First How can I see it? Minster and his Cabinet form the Welsh You can book a guided tour of the Assembly Government. The Welsh Assembly building or book a seat to watch Assembly Government is responsible for any of the Assembly’s public meetings. developing and putting into practice the To make a booking call 029 2089 8477, policies and programmes for all issues textphone 029 2089 8261 or email that have been devolved to Wales. The [email protected]. Ministers have responsibility for different areas of the Assembly’s work: You can also watch the Assembly on your • assembly business; TV. All public committee meetings and plenary sessions are broadcast live on • finance; S4C2 and BBC Parliament or through • local government and public services; www.webcasting.wales.gov.uk where • social justice and regeneration; you can also catch up with some archived meetings. • health and social services; • economic development and transport; • education and lifelong learning; • the environment; • planning and countryside; and • culture, Welsh language and sport.

All Ministers are accountable to the Assembly and its committees for all that they do. The Ministers are answerable to the National Assembly for Wales as a whole and have to answer questions from Assembly members about their policies and activities.

DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK SCOTLAND Who decides? Snack break as The Scottish Parliament, was set we know it today, in up in 1999. But the first Parliament Scotland was set up in the thirteenth- century – over 600 years ago! The Scottish Parliament can make laws can make The Scottish Parliament without them having to about these issues While the UK Parliament. be approved by still make laws for can the UK Parliament not normally make a law Scotland it will without the consent on a devolved matter The Scottish Parliament. of the Scottish limited power to raise also has Parliament or lower the rate of tax in Scotland. . These are reserved matters devolved matters Where is it based? is based in The Scottish Parliament Holyrood, Edinburgh. What is it responsible for? still makes some The UK Parliament and decisions that affect both England Scotland. These are called Who does it affect? Who does it in Scotland. All people living it and how did it How old is come about? was established The Scottish Parliament voted after the majority of people in Scotland 1997. yes in a referendum on 11 September went on to pass After this the UK Parliament which set up a law called the ‘Scotland Act’, to The first elections the Scottish Parliament. were held in 1999. the Scottish Parliament and and include defence, foreign affairs anything to do with the monarchy. given to the Scottish Parliament Powers are called things that Scotland can make laws about. They include: • health; • education; • training; • local government; • social work; • housing; • planning; • tourism; and • economic development. Who makes decisions for Scotland? decisions makes Who Parliament Scottish The Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 57 Page 15:06 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 58

Who is in the Scottish Parliament?

MSPs give executive power MSPs elect a Presiding Officer who to the First Minister who is convenes and chairs the Scottish elected by the whole Scottish Parliament. The Presiding Officer is Parliament. He or she usually impartial, which means that they have. comes from the political party to treat all political parties in the with the most MSPs. Assembly fairly.

The First Minister chooses individual MSPs MSPs sit in the debating who form the Cabinet. These Ministers form chamber according to their the Scottish Executive and make many of the party grouping. There are Parliament s day-to-day decisions. 129 MSPs.

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How are decisions made? The Scottish Executive The Scottish Parliament makes decisions The Scottish Executive is the government through debates and committees. in Scotland for all devolved matters.

Debates happen in the main chamber of The Scottish Executive is formed from the Scottish Parliament. During this time the party or parties holding the most MSPs debate and approve new laws. They seats in the Parliament. The MSPs who are can also ask the First Minister about the members of the Executive are collectively work of the Scottish Executive. referred to as ‘the Scottish Ministers’.

Committees are each made up of a small The Scottish Ministers are: number of MSPs and are a central part of • The First Minister; the work of the Scottish Parliament. They look at proposed new laws in detail to make • The Lord Advocate and the Solicitor sure they will be workable. They do this by: General for Scotland (also known as the Scottish Law Officers); and • taking evidence from the public and experts working in the area they are • Ministers appointed by the First Minister. looking into; Key events • looking at proposed laws in detail; and Debates are normally held on Wednesday • conducting inquiries about public bodies afternoons and Thursdays. These meetings and other institutions. are when Members of the Scottish Parliament The committee system is used to encourage discuss issues relating to bills and ask the members of the public to be involved with First Minister questions. Committees are the Parliament. held on Tuesdays.

Cross-party groups are another important aspect of the Scottish Parliament. They Hot recipes provide an opportunity for members of all • Build your own Parliament parties and members of the public to meet and discuss a shared interest in a subject • Who’s got the power? or issue. • Voting timeline – Scotland

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How can I see it? You can visit the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood and see a debate. To make a booking call 0131 348 5200, textphone 0845 270 0152 or email [email protected].

You can also watch debates and committee meetings live online at www.holyrood.tv.

For more information visit www.scottish.parliament.uk or www.scotland.gov.uk.

What it boils down to • The Cabinet are the most senior members of the Scottish Parliament. • Devolved matters are issues that are now decided in Scotland. • Executive power means that the First Minister manages the work of the Parliament. It is a bit like the Chief Executive of a company. • The First Minister is the head of the Scottish Executive. • MSPs are Members of the Scottish Parliament. They are elected by people in Scotland to represent them in the Scottish Parliament. • The Presiding Officer is the chairperson (also known as convener) of the Scottish Parliament. • Reserved matters are issues that are still dealt with by the UK Parliament. • The Scottish Executive is the government of Scotland. • The Scottish Law Officers are the Scottish Executives’ legal advisors.

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Who makes decisions for the UK? The UK Parliament

Who does it affect? Parliament is made up of three parts. There are two ‘chambers’ or ‘houses’: The UK Parliament represents all the the House of Lords, which is sometimes people in the United Kingdom. It makes called the upper house and the House decisions about how the UK is run and of Commons, sometimes called the lower makes laws that affect our lives. house. Members of Parliament, or MPs, sit in the House of Commons and Lords (also How old is it and how did it known as Peers) sit in the House of Lords. come about? The third branch of Parliament is the The UK Parliament is one of the oldest Monarch, currently the Queen, whose role democratic institutions in the world. Its is mostly ceremonial. The Queen’s main origins go back to the thirteenth century. job is to ‘OK’ any laws made by Parliament. Since the fourteenth century the Parliament This is called the Royal Assent and is has been made up of two chambers – the usually just a formality. She opens the House of Commons and the House of Lords. new Parliament after a UK general election and gives her approval for when the next Where is it based? election should be held. She also delivers the Queen’s Speech, which sets out what The UK Parliament is based in the Palace the Government plans to do each year. of Westminster in London, England. What is it responsible for? Snack break The UK Parliament: The official emblem of the • makes UK law; Houses of Parliament is the • provides, by voting for taxation, the portcullis. A portcullis is a gate that financial means of carrying on the protects a fortress, castle or palace. work of government; • protects the public and safeguards the rights of individuals; • looks closely at government policy and actions. This is also known as ‘scrutinising’; • examines European Union proposals before they become law; • hears legal cases in the House of Lords, the highest law court in the UK; and • debates the major issues of the day.

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Here are some of the things Parliament is responsible for:

Protecting the Working out public and looking how to spend after our rights our taxes to Debating the run the UK major issues of the day Making laws

Hearing legal cases in the Looking at proposals from Keeping an eye on House of Lords, the highest the European Parliament how the Government court of law in the UK before they become law is working

Snack break What it boils down to Often when we think about • The Palace of Westminster is the the UK Parliament we think parliamentary ‘estate’, which includes all about the building. The Houses of the buildings that make up Parliament. of Parliament are in the Palace of • The House of Commons, also Westminster in London. The original known as the lower house, is the place palace was burnt down in 1834 and where your Member of Parliament sits. then reconstructed to become the building we know today. The most • The House of Lords, also know as famous part of the Palace of Westminster the upper house, is the place where is the clock tower. Many people call the Lords, or peers, sit. this Big Ben but Big Ben is actually • The Queen’s Speech is the speech the name of the huge bell in the tower made by the Queen at the beginning that strikes every hour. of a new parliamentary term that sets out what the Government intends to do in the coming year.

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The House of Commons There are 646 MPs across the UK representing the 646 geographical areas, You will have seen the House of Commons or constituencies, that the UK is divided on television – with people sitting on into. Voters elect one MP per constituency. opposing green benches debating with each other. The House of Commons spends most of its time debating new laws and looking at These people are called Members of the work of the government. Parliament, or MPs for short. They get to be there because the public votes them in at a UK Parliamentary election, often known as a general election.

A backbencher is Frontbenchers are MPs who have The Speaker is the MP an MP who holds been appointed as ministers in the who acts as chairperson no official position government or as shadow ministers during debates in the in government or in the Official Opposition. House of Commons. the opposition.

Each MP represents a constituency.

The political party with Ministers The political party with the second the most MPs forms stand at the highest number of MPs forms the Government. They sit despatch Official Opposition. They sit on the on the benches to the box to make benches on the left side of the Speaker right side of the Speaker. their speeches. along with MPs from other parties.

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A typical day in the House of Commons will involve questions to a Government Minister, Snack break debates about a new law, votes to support There are lots of rules about or reject changes to a law, speeches by what MPs can and more MPs about an issue affecting their local importantly cannot do during debates constituency and many committee meetings in the chamber. They are not allowed looking into issues in more detail. to eat or drink, read their speech off a piece of paper or use visual aids. Key events During a speech they should not put Prime Minister’s questions are held on their hands in their pockets, call an Wednesdays. MPs from all political parties MP a liar or call them by their name. get the chance to ask the Prime Minister questions. It’s always a very lively affair. What it boils down to The Queen’s Speech is held at the • An MP is a Member of Parliament. beginning of the Parliamentary session They are elected by people across (usually in autumn or immediately after an the UK to represent them in the election). In this speech the Queen presents UK Parliament. the Government’s plans for the next year. It lets everyone know what new laws are likely • Elected by MPs as the chairperson for to be introduced in the next year. It is a the House of Commons, the Speaker highly ceremonial occasion involving lots calls MPs to speak and is responsible for of traditions and special costumes! making sure everyone follows the rules. • A constituency is an electoral district. This is the area represented by your MP. • The Official Opposition is the political party with the second highest number of MPs. • The UK Government is formed by the party with the most MPs in Parliament.

Stir it up What do you think when you see the House of Commons on the television? If you were going to design our Parliament now, what would it look like and how would it work?

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The House of Lords be agreed by the House of Lords as well as the House of Commons. The House of The people who sit in the House of Lords Lords acts as a forum for debates on a are called peers or lords. Unlike the House wide range of issues and keeps a check of Commons, members of the House of on the Government. It is also the highest Lords are not elected, instead they are court of law in the United Kingdom. mostly appointed. The House of Lords tends to be less divided The House of Lords spends the majority of along party political lines than the House its time looking at proposed laws or bills. of Commons. All bills, except for financial bills, have to

Life peers and hereditary peers sit according to their party. More important The Lord Chancellor acts as peers sit towards the front like Cabinet chairperson and sits in the Ministers do in the House of Commons. middle of the chamber.

Archbishops and bishops (also known as lords spiritual) represent the Church of England in Parliament.

Cross-benchers are lords Judicial peers, or law lords, have the job of who aren. t members of a hearing legal appeals as the House of Lords political party. also acts as the highest court in the UK.

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Life peers are members of the House of Lords until their death. They are nominated Stir it up by the Prime Minister, and appointed by the There is a lot of debate about Queen. The Leader of the Opposition and how members of the House of other party leaders can also propose a Lords should be chosen. What do certain number of life peers. Most life peers you think is the best way of deciding are politicians who have worked outside who should be in the Lords? Parliament, retired Members of Parliament, or people who have expertise in a particular area. What it boils down to Before 1999 the House of Lords was mostly • A bill is a proposal for made up of hereditary peers. These people a new law. inherited their title through their family. After 1999 the House of Lords was ‘reformed’ or • The Lord Chancellor is the changed so that the majority of lords are chairperson of the House of Lords. now life peers. • Peer is another word used to describe a Lord who sits in the House of Lords.

Hot recipes • Build your own Parliament • Full house • Political squares • Storytime • Political call my bluff

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Parliamentary committees Select Committees take evidence from the public and experts to inform their Often there is not enough time in the discussions. For example, when looking chambers of the Commons or the Lords into youth homelessness, the Health Select to discuss issues in detail or to properly Committee asked young homeless people consider the Government’s actions. in Newcastle to share their experiences Committees are a way for Parliament to with the committee via a video link-up. look at certain issues in lots of detail. At the end of an investigation the There are two main types of committee: Select Committee will write a report about • select committees; and what they have discovered and make recommendations. The Government will • standing committees. respond to the report, and sometimes there is also a debate in Parliament. Committees are made up of MPs or Lords from different parties and reflect the Standing committees are set up by the balance of political parties in Parliament. House of Commons to consider the details of a bill (a bill is a law that is in the process Select committees are set up by either the of being made). This is called the Committee House of Commons or the House of Lords Stage. Standing Committees only last for as to discuss particular subject areas, such as long as the bill is being discussed. Standing education, health, defence, etc. Committees will suggest changes to the bill (known as amendments) and any additions Select Committees in the House of they think need to be made. These changes Commons look into the activities of are then discussed and voted on in Government Departments, for example, the chamber. the Education and Skills Select Committee examines the work of the Department for Education and Skills. Committees can choose which issues within their subject What it boils down to area they want to look into. • Standing Committees In the House of Lords, Select Committees look closely at pieces cover broader issues such as science of proposed legislation and technology, the economy and the (potential laws) that are European Union. passing through Parliament. Some committees are Joint Committees • Select Committees look at particular in which MPs and Peers (members of the subject areas in detail. House of Lords) work together.

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What is the UK Government?

After a general election the The Cabinet political party with the most The Cabinet is made up of ministers chosen by the Prime Minister. Members elected Members of Parliament of the cabinet are usually elected MPs (MPs) forms the Government. but can also be Peers from the House of Lords and, very occasionally, senior The Government makes recommendations people outside Parliament. The cabinet for new laws that should be introduced is the highest decision-making body or issues that should be looked at, and of government. It makes and controls carries out the decisions made by Parliament. government policy and oversees the work of government departments and civil servants. The Government can’t make laws – Parliament does this. The Government can Most members of the cabinet are propose new laws in the form of bills that the head of a particular government it presents to Parliament for consideration. department and are responsible for the In practice, because the Government is work of that department. For example, the formed from the largest party, the laws that it Minister for Health is responsible for the suggests are usually agreed by Parliament. Department of Health and all the people who work within the department. However, government does make many decisions that affect us, through government Cabinet Ministers are sometimes known as policy. Policy isn’t law. Policy sets out what Secretaries of State. They are often assisted government departments want to do about by a number of junior ministers who are particular issues. For example, a government also MPs from the political party in power. policy would decide which lessons at school There are over 20 members of cabinet. are compulsory. The most senior members are the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Who is in the Government? Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign The Prime Minister Secretary and the Home Secretary.

The Prime Minister is the most senior The Deputy Prime Minister member of the Government. He or she is the leader of the party that wins the most seats at The Deputy Prime Minister sometimes a General Election. After a General Election, stands in for the Prime Minister. For example the Queen calls on the leader of party with he or she might stand in at Prime Minister’s the most MPs to form the Government. The Question Time in the House of Commons Prime Minister chooses the other members of when the Prime Minister cannot attend. the Government and has a home and offices However, if the Prime Minister was suddenly at 10 Downing Street. In Parliament, the unable to do their job the Deputy Prime Prime Minister sits on the Government front Minister would not automatically take over. bench near the Despatch Box in the House of Commons. He or she is also an MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer represents a constituency like all other MPs. As head of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for managing the Government’s budget and financial policy.

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The Government’s money comes from tax. The Chancellor sets out how much this will What it boils down to be and what the Government will spend it • The UK Government is on every year in the budget. This is a huge formed by the party with job as the government spends around £520 the most MPs in Parliament. billion every year! • The Prime Minister is the leader of the Government and the leader of the The Foreign Secretary party with the most MPs. This minister looks after our relationships • The Cabinet is the team of ministers with other countries. He or she is in charge chosen by the Prime Minister to head of the Foreign Office, which provides government departments and make information to British travellers, issues UK the most important decisions in visas and promotes trade and investment government. They are usually opportunities overseas. referred to as Secretaries of State. The Home Secretary • The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the head of the Treasury who looks The Home Secretary heads up the Home after government money and decides Office, which looks after a huge range of how it will be spent. issues. This includes terrorism and the • The budget is the speech given security of the UK, crime, immigration by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and active citizenship. every year that sets out how the Government intends to gather and The civil service spend public money. The civil service are the administrative staff • Civil servants are politically neutral who work in government departments people who carry out administrative and carry out the policies of government. duties on behalf of the Government. Members of the civil service are non- • The Shadow Cabinet are senior MPs political in the sense that they work for the and peers from the Official Opposition. government, whichever political party forms it. The Opposition The MPs in the opposition party (the party Stir it up with the second highest number of MPs) Can you name the Prime Minister? form a Shadow Cabinet. They challenge What about the Chancellor of the the Government’s handling of issues and Exchequer and other members of show how they would govern if they were the cabinet? in power.

Hot recipes • Political squares • Full house

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Who makes decisions in the European Union?

Who does it affect? What is it responsible for? Everybody who lives in one of the 25 The institutions of the European Union, countries of the European Union (EU). including the European Parliament, make decisions that affect all 25 member How old is it and how did it countries listed below. About half of our come about? laws in the UK stem from the European Union. This includes laws to do with trade, The European Union’s political system the environment and anti-discrimination. has constantly changed over the past 50 years. It is founded on a series of treaties Who is in it? (international agreements). See the snack break at the end of this section to see The European Union is made up of 25 what these treaties are. member states or countries in Europe including the UK: Where is it based? Austria Germany The Netherlands The European Parliament meets in Belgium Greece Strasbourg, France and Brussels, Belgium. Cyprus Hungary Poland Committees and political groups meet in Czech Ireland Portugal Brussels. The European Commission is Republic Slovakia based in Brussels and Luxembourg. Italy Denmark Latvia Slovenia Estonia Lithuania Spain Finland Luxembourg Sweden France Malta United Kingdom

There are four main political institutions in the European Union that work closely together.

The Council The European of Ministers Parliament represents the is made up of member states and representatives is made up of democratically elected The European Government Ministers by citizens of Commission from all EU member EU member is a politically states. The European states. independent body that Council looks after shared European is made up of the interests. It is made up of leaders of each EU Commissioners nominated member state and by the governments of the President member states. of the European Commission.

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How are decisions made? What it boils down to Members of the European Union delegate, • The Council of the or hand over, some of their national Ministers is the body made decision-making rights to the European up of the ministers from each Union institutions that represent the of the 25 member states of the EU. interests of all EU members. • The European Commission is The European Parliament responsible for proposing laws to be This is the only institution of the European debated by the European Parliament. Union directly elected by the public. It is Each member state of the European made up of 732 Members of the European Union provides one commissioner Parliament (MEPs) who are elected every five for this body. years. The United Kingdom is represented • The European Parliament is the by 78 of these MEPs. They do most of their elected body of the 25 member states work in Brussels, but the whole Parliament of the European Union. comes together once a month in Strasbourg • A member state is a country that and several times a year in Brussels. is part of the European Union. The main job of the European Parliament is • The European Council is made up to debate and pass laws affecting the EU. of the leaders of each EU member It does this in collaboration with the Council state and the President of the of Ministers. European Commission. It also checks the work of all EU decision- • MEPs are Members of the European making bodies, in particular the European Parliament. They are elected by people Commission. It has the power to approve in the UK to represent them in the or reject the nomination of Commissioners European Parliament. (who are nominated by member states) • The Presidency of the Council and it can call for the resignation of the means that the leader of each Commission as a whole. member state takes it in turn to be the chairperson every six months. Along with the Council, the European It means they host all the meetings Parliament can influence EU spending and can influence the agenda. because it has the power to agree or reject the EU’s budget. • Treaties are agreements between members of the European Union.

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The Council of Ministers It is based in Strasbourg. Snack break The Council of Ministers is made up of one minister from each EU member state. Which A quick history of minister attends depends on the subject the European Union being discussed. For example environment The EU as we know it today ministers meet to pass laws on controlling came about through a number of pollution. The Presidency of the Council treaties, or agreements, between moves between each member state every European countries. six months. The country that holds the presidency chairs all Council meetings and After the Second World War, Europe decides, in consultation with the European looked for ways to prevent another Commission, the policy agenda of the outbreak of conflict. European Union. The Council also jointly France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the approves the European Union’s budget Netherlands and the UK signed the with the European Parliament. The Council Brussels Treaty, in 1948, agreeing of Ministers meets in Brussels and on military assistance and economic, Luxembourg. It is also sometimes known social and cultural cooperation. as the Council of the European Union. In 1951 France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, The European Commission Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Paris, which The Commission is responsible for established a new trade community proposing laws, which are then debated for Europe. and approved by the European Parliament. It is made up of one Commissioner per These same countries then signed member state. Each Commissioner is the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which responsible for a particular area of work, formed the European Economic such as trade or the environment. The Community (EEC). Commission is based in Brussels and The UK joined the EU In 1973, the has about 16,000 permanent staff. same time as Denmark and Ireland. The European Council European leaders met in the Dutch town of Maastricht in 1991 and drafted The European Council is made up of the the Treaty of the European Union – political leaders of EU member states – the agreement which officially changed for example our Prime Minister is a the European Community into the member – and the President of the European Union (EU). European Commission. It can’t make or amend laws, but it does set the overall agenda for EU policies. The European Hot recipess Council meets in Brussels four times a year and also has summits in the country • European challenge holding the Presidency. • Europe vision

Not to be confused with: The Council of Europe, which is not part of the EU and was founded in 1949 to promote cultural diversity, democracy and human rights. Who decides? Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 74

How the European Union affects your dinner

How much did your dinner cost? How much time did you have The EU decides how much farmers to eat it? and fishermen can charge for The EU says how long we can their products. work for and how often we should have our breaks.

Is that fish safe to eat? What chemicals were used on The EU ensures that sewage the potatoes for your chips? and waste water are treated The EU sets levels for the use properly so they don’t pollute of pesticides on food crops. our waterways.

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Making laws

What laws affect you? Can you Who makes laws? think of any? You may not realise Laws can be made by: it but there are many laws that • the European Union; impact on the things you do every • the UK Parliament; day. Think about the speed that • the Scottish Parliament; and you can drive your car at or what • the Northern Ireland Assembly. age you can leave school. Laws The National Assembly for Wales can’t also say what is a crime and what currently make new laws, but it can isn’t. So, we have laws to make develop and implement laws agreed sure that the UK runs smoothly, by the UK Parliament. but how are they actually made? The following pages describe how each of these bodies makes laws. In the UK we have three kinds of law: 1. statute law is made by our See Who decides? for more democratic institutions; information on the decisions these institutions can make. 2. case law is established from cases tried in the courts; and 3. common law comes from rules that have Hot recipes developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. • Storytime • How politics affects... In the UK, most of our laws come into the first category and are made by our democratic institutions. This is called the legislative process. Legislation is another word for law.

The process of passing a law can be complex and time-consuming. The law has to go through many stages before it is finally agreed and can be put into practice.

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How does the UK Parliament make laws?

Making a law is a complicated Before introducing a bill to Parliament the Government will set out their plans and process and can take a long ask people’s views on them. These plans time. Using the example of are called Green Papers. a youth club, this section Coming up with a plan explains how laws are made You get a lot of feedback. Some of the in the UK Parliament. older members think your idea is unfair as the younger members finish school earlier The problem so get to use the equipment then. They also complain that the younger members You and your friends are on the are noisy and messy. They want some time management committee of your youth to relax when the younger members aren’t club. You are concerned that the younger in the club. members of your youth group never get a chance to use the equipment. The older Based on your discussions you rethink members always push them off the table your idea to balance the needs of the older tennis table and table football and the and younger members. You suggest that younger members are never able to earlier in the evening the equipment should watch the programmes they want on the be reserved for the younger members, but television. Recently the number of younger that the younger members have to leave members has started to decline and you the club by 7pm to give the older members are worried about the long-term future of time to relax in peace. your youth group if there are no younger members coming through. Based on the feedback on the Green Paper the Government will provide more What you plan to do detail of their plans in a White Paper. This forms the basis of the bill that they You want to introduce a rule that restricts will introduce to Parliament. the use of equipment to members under 14 years old between 5 and 6pm. Introducing the rule Most proposals for new law are introduced At the next management committee by the Government. A proposal for a new meeting you tell people that you are law is called a bill. planning on introducing this new rule. They agree to put in on the agenda for Introducing your idea the next whole youth group meeting. You write down your basic idea. You pass The first time that a bill is announced in it around the members of the club and Parliament is called the First Reading. ask for their thoughts. You hold a special meeting to find out what the members of the club think. You also ask people from other youth groups how they have managed this problem.

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Discussing and debating Reporting back your rule At the next whole youth club meeting you It is time for your rule to be discussed at the report back on the discussions you have youth club meeting. You explain why you had in the committee and explain how think it is important and get some of your the rule would work now with changes friends to speak out to support your views. you have agreed. Some members of the However, other members of the youth group youth group still are not happy and want think that the rule won’t work and want you more changes to the rule. As you and to think it through further. The youth group your friends do not agree, the group votes agrees to set up a special committee to on whether to make the changes or not. look at the issue in more detail. The group rejects one of the changes suggested, but agrees to the other. MPs debate and discuss the general principles of a bill at the Second The Report Stage of a bill is the chance Reading stage. for all the MPs in the House of Commons to suggest further amendments to the bill. Getting down to the detail The special committee meets on a number of occasions. Some people on Stir it up the committee want to change the times Think of a new rule you would that the rule applies. Others want to like to introduce to your school, change the ages of the people it applies your youth group or even your to. After much discussion, you agree with family! What would it be and how some of the changes the members of the would you get it agreed? committee suggest.

At the Committee Stage of a bill MPs examine the detail of the bill and suggest What it boils down to changes. These changes are called • A bill is a proposal for amendments. a new law or set of laws. • An act is the final version of a bill which becomes law. • Amendments are suggested changes to a bill.

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All agreed? It’s in the rulebook! You rewrite the rule to reflect the proposed Now all you need is the official sign-off changes and explain it one more time to the from the youth centre manager! Your new whole group. You ask them to vote to agree rule is now part of the youth centre’s code the rule. The majority of young people in of conduct. your youth group vote to accept the rule. It is only after the Queen has given her This is the final chance for MPs to ‘Royal Assent’ that the bill finally becomes debate the bill after all amendments a fully-fledged law, also known as an act. have been made. This stage is called the Third Reading. Passing it up Snack break In 2004 the UK Parliament But it doesn’t end there. You then pass passed 38 bills which your rule over to the youth workers who became official law or Acts run the club. Without their agreement the of Parliament. You can view all rule cannot be put into practice. bills passed since 1988 at the Office After the House of Commons have agreed of Public Sector Information the bill, it is passed to the House of Lords. www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation. On this The Lords must discuss the bill and agree website you can also find Acts of the it before it can become law. Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The National The youth workers discuss the rule at several Assembly for Wales can’t pass laws of their meetings and suggest a small but it can make a type of minor law change about what equipment is included. called a ‘statutory instrument’ – you can view these on this website as well. The Peers in the House of Lords can also suggest amendments to the bill proposed by the House of Commons.

Nearly there… You tell the youth group of the changes suggested by the youth workers. You have a vote and most people agree with the youth workers’ suggestions.

When the two chambers (the House of Commons and House of Lords) have both agreed on a bill, the bill is ‘passed’ into law.

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The process that a bill goes through to become law looks like this:

House of Commons How a bill becomes law House of Lords Formal announcement First Reading Formal announcement in chamber in chamber Debate and decision on Second Reading Government bills included general principles of the bill in an election manifesto are usually not opposed Detailed examination in a Committee Stage Any member of the Lords committee of MPs. can participate. There is no Amendments can be made selection of amendments and debate is unrestricted Opportunity for whole House Report Stage A further chance to amend to make further amendments the bill Final chance to debate and Third Reading Unlike the Commons, approve the bill in its amendments can be made revised form Consideration of Amendments Each House considers the other’s amendments (if any)

The bill is ‘passed’ (agreed) by both Houses If the points on which the two Houses differ can be resolved the bill is passed into law Royal Assent

Act of Parliament

To find out which bills are being looked at by Parliament now visit www.parliament.uk and click on ‘Bills before Parliament’.

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How the European Union makes laws

The European Union (EU) has made • Decisions: A decision can apply to any laws on areas such as: or all member countries, a company • bathing water standards; or even an individual. • seatbelts for children; • Recommendations and opinions: These are not legally binding but provide a • maximum working hours for junior country with direction on a particular issue. doctors and lorry drivers; • animal testing for cosmetics; and • food labelling and product restrictions. What it boils down to • The Council of Ministers The types of laws the EU can make and is the body made up of the the impact they have on the UK is guided leaders of the 25 member by the agreements called treaties that the states of the European Union. UK has signed. • The European Commission is The European Commission proposes responsible for proposing laws to be new legislation, but it is the Council of debated by the European Parliament. Ministers and European Parliament that Each member state of the European agree to them. Other institutions and Union provides one commissioner for bodies also have roles to play. this body. • The European Parliament is the For more information on elected body of the 25 member states the institutions of the EU of the European Union. see Who decides? • The European Council is made up of the leaders of each EU member This might seem complicated but all you state and the President of the need to remember is that there are four European Commission. main types of laws or decisions that the • The European Union is a group of EU can make. These are: 25 countries that have agreed to work together to promote shared interests • Regulations: These come into force and goals. throughout the EU from the moment they are passed at European level. • A member state is a country that is Most regulations are technical changes part of the European Union. to the law. • Treaties are agreements between • Directives: The majority of EU laws are members of the European Union. directives. They mean that all member states have agreed to an aim to be achieved. However, each member state can decide how to achieve this aim in their country. That means that the EU leaves it up to the UK Parliament to decide how the law will work in the UK.

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What is an EU directive? Directives form the majority of laws made by the EU. A typical EU directive starts life as European a proposal from the European Commission. Commission It is then passed to the Council of Ministers, which represents all of the elected Governments of member states. New law proposed Most directives also go to the elected European Parliament which has the power to amend or reject them. Once the Council and the European Parliament have reached agreement on the proposal it goes to the European Council UK Parliament which decides how to put Parliament of Ministers the law into practice. considers considers

Snack break Many of the laws that affect our daily lives come from the EU. Here are some examples: Agreement • Rules for producing and labelling reached food products. • Compensation for passengers who have been ‘bumped off’ flights. • Seatbelts in coaches from 2006. • The right to work, live and study in any EU country. UK Parliament implements law

DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK NORTHERN IRELAND Who decides? Making laws For more information on how For the Northern Ireland Assembly works see the Secretary of State to seek Royal the Secretary of approval by the Queen) Assent (formal become an Act of the so that the bill can The Secretary Assembly. Northern Ireland Northern Ireland in of State represents the UK Government. Ireland. becomes official law for Northern • the Speaker asks If the bill is approved • it Once the law has Royal Assent . bills Assembly Members (MLAs) can submit Assembly Members (MLAs) can bills to the Speaker in the Assembly. the bill is within the Assembly’s powers, Rights sent to the Northern Ireland Human Commission and the Equality Commission check for Northern Ireland. These bodies with that the proposed bill complies human rights and equality laws. bills been thought about properly, are also looked at in detail by Assembly Committees. produces a report for the Assembly. including any changes proposed by individual MLAs. and is voted on by the whole Assembly. • Ministers, Committees and individual •is If the Speaker decides that a proposal • The bill is then debated by the Assembly. • make sure that all the issues have To • After looking at the bill, a committee • Members vote on all parts of the bill, • The bill is then looked at for a final time The Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern laws about can make new affect people issues that Ireland. It can in Northern existing laws and also review amend laws that are made by the UK Parliament. New laws start out as proposals. These are called How the Northern Ireland Ireland the Northern How laws makes Assembly Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 83 Page 15:06 4/10/05 Cookbook_ingred_ENG Democracy Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 84 Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:06 Page 85

How the Scottish Parliament makes laws

The Scottish Parliament can Stage 2 make new laws about issues • The Committee looks at the bill again that affect people in Scotland. and makes changes if necessary. It can also review existing laws Stage 3 and amend laws that are made • Parliament looks at the bill again and by the UK Parliament. can propose changes. • Once all the changes have been made to New laws start out as proposals. These are the bill, Parliament then votes on the bill. called bills. If Parliament agrees, the bill is passed. A system has been set up to allow the Scottish Parliament and interested groups If Parliament disagrees, the bill will fail and or individuals to be consulted about not become law. a proposed law before it becomes a bill. This system prevents the Scottish After a bill is passed there is a four-week Executive from only consulting with some period where it can be challenged. groups before a law is decided on. A bill would only be challenged if it was outside the devolved powers of The results of the consultation must be the Scottish Parliament. attached to the draft bill. This is so the views of the consulted groups are public After this four-week period the bill receives at an early stage of the process. Royal Assent from the Queen. It then becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament, New laws can be initiated in a number and official law for Scotland. of ways, but all proposed law must go through three stages. For more information about how the Scottish Parliament Stage 1 works see Who decides? • A Parliamentary Committee looks at the proposed bill. • They discuss it and write a report. • The whole Parliament then looks at the report and votes on whether or not the bill should go to the next stage.

If Parliament agrees, the bill moves on to the next stage.

If Parliament disagrees, the bill will fail and not go further.

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Why do we have elections?

Elections are the way we decide Hot recipes who we want or who we don’t • What influences? want to represent us. • Reasons to vote

In an election, people who are able to vote (the ‘electorate’), select one or more options set out on a ballot paper. These are a person or a political party.

In the UK we have elections for the UK, Scottish and European Parliaments, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Greater London Authority (and directly elected Mayor of London) and for local government.

Voting in an election is one of the simplest ways to participate in our democracy. It is the system we use to choose people to represent us. These representatives are then allowed to make decisions on our behalf. How often do we have elections? Where you live will determine how often you have elections in your area.

Sometimes elections to different institutions are held on the same day, but often they are not. This means that you may have elections in your area several years in a row.

Some institutions, such as the European Parliament, have fixed terms. This means that we all know when the next election will be held. The UK Parliament does not have fixed term elections. It is up to the Prime Minster to decide when an election will be called. However, a UK Parliamentary general election must be called within five years of the last one.

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What elections are happening when?

Institution Type of election Date Local government in England County councils in England May 2009 District and unitary councils in May 2006 England that elect by thirds or May 2007 by halves May 2008 Metropolitan borough councils May 2006 in England May 2007 May 2008 London borough councils May 2006 Parish and town councils in England May 2006 May 2007 May 2008 Local government in All local councils in Northern Ireland May 2009 Northern Ireland Local government in Scotland All local councils in Scotland May 2007 Local government in Wales All local councils in Wales May 2008 UK Parliament UK General Election Must be held before May 2010 National Assembly for Wales Election of Assembly May 2007 Scottish Parliament Election of Parliament May 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly Election of Assembly May 2007 European Parliament Election of MEPs June 2009 Greater London Authority Election of Mayor and Assembly 2008

That’s a lot of elections!

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What happens in an election?

The weeks running up to an The Electoral Commission has a range of fact sheets about standing as a candidate. election are an exciting time Visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk. in politics. Politicians are out campaigning, posters for the The campaign political parties appear around In the weeks before an election, parties and candidates run campaigns to your streets, opinion polls are encourage you to vote for them. released daily to show who is in the lead and the media goes Candidates and political parties will use materials such as slogans, posters, leaflets election crazy! and videos to get their message out to the voters. They will also try to get positive Here are some of the key features of stories in the media. an election. In the UK, political parties cannot buy television advertising like commercial The candidates companies can. However, the main A candidate is a person hoping to be political parties are given a set amount elected. At every election there will be of time on television to put their policies a range of different candidates running across to voters. This is called a party in your area. They will usually be from political broadcast. a political party, but some people might run as independent candidates. The candidates standing for election in your constituency will also run their own Each political party has their own way of local campaigns. working out who will run as a candidate in an election. Once a candidate has been This will involve knocking on people’s chosen, people in the party will support doors and telling them about the election, them and try to get people in your area taking part in hustings (public debates to vote for them. against other candidates) and sending out leaflets. To stand as a candidate in an election you need to be aged 21 or over and be a British Election campaigns are regulated to make citizen, a citizen of another Commonwealth sure they are run in a fair and open way. country or the Irish Republic. Citizens of For example, political parties have limits other EU member countries can stand on how much money they can spend on in any election in the UK except the UK their campaigns. Parliament general election. There are other rules to say who can not stand, including if you have been in prison or declared bankrupt, for example.

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Techniques used in campaigns include: • party political broadcasts on radio • door knocking and talking to and television; local residents; • newspaper ads; • being out and about on the street • posters; in your local area; • signs in people’s windows; • text messaging; • doing media interviews; • emails; • bumper stickers on cars; • campaign websites; and • leaflets; • weblogs.

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The manifestos The voters A political party or independent candidate Turnout is used to describe the number of will have certain ideas about the way people who vote in an election. If turnout things should be done. They put these is high it means that a lot of people have ideas together in policies on subjects voted. If there is a low turnout it means like education or the economy. Before an not many people have voted. election these policies are put together in a manifesto. A manifesto lets us know what There has been a lot of concern about low a political party or independent candidate turnout in elections in the UK. The Electoral plans to do if they come into power. Commission runs campaigns to encourage people to get out and vote. The media Coverage of the election in the media plays a big role in letting the public know what people are saying and what is happening. Many of the newspapers will choose to support one party or another and will try to encourage their readers to vote for that party. The broadcast media has to remain neutral and cannot support a particular party. There are strict rules on what the media is allowed to do and say during an election.

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Stir it up Can you remember any slogans used by a political party? What do you think makes a good slogan? Do you think parties should run positive or negative campaigns?

What it boils down to • The campaign is the period before an election when there is a heightened degree of political activity, as political parties and candidates try to get you to vote for them. • A manifesto outlines the policies of a political party. • A Party Political Broadcast is a short television slot that enables political parties to broadcast their ideas. • Turnout describes the number of people that vote out of the number that are eligible to vote in the particular election.

Snack break Sixty-one per cent of people voted in the 2005 UK Parliamentary general election. Thirty-seven per cent of 18-24 year olds voted.

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How do elections actually work?

There are many different ways of marking a ballot paper and counting up the votes. In some elections you have to place a cross in the box. In other elections you have to put numbers next to the candidates of your choice.

These different systems have names like first past the post, additional member and single transferable vote. The result that you get in an election depends on the voting system used so it’s important to understand how it works.

Use the table to check which system is used in your area. The following pages explain how each of these systems work.

Institution Voting system Local government First past the post in England, Wales and Scotland,* single transferable vote in Northern Ireland Greater London Assembly Additional member system Mayor of London Supplementary vote National Assembly for Wales Additional member system Northern Ireland Assembly Single transferable vote Scottish Parliament Additional member system UK Parliament First past the post European Parliament Closed regional list system in England, Wales and Scotland, single transferable vote in Northern Ireland * From 2007 Scottish local government elections will use single transferable vote.

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How do we elect the How we elect the London Assembly? Mayor of London There are 25 members of the London If there are three or more candidates for Assembly: 14 constituency members the job, the Mayor of London is elected and 11 London-wide members. using the supplementary vote system. If there are only two candidates, the first The Assembly is elected using the past the post system is used. additional member system. In the supplementary vote system, you can Every voter has two votes: one for a make a first and second choice vote for constituency Assembly Member and one for Mayor. You don’t have to make a second the independent candidate or political party choice vote, but you must make a first you would most like to see represented in choice or your ballot paper will not be the Assembly on a London-wide basis. counted. If a candidate receives more than half of the valid first choice votes from Your first vote is used to elect your across London, he or she is elected. constituency member. Each of these members represents one of London’s 14 If no candidate receives half of the first Assembly constituencies, which are made choice votes, it then gets complicated! All up of two to four London boroughs. They the other candidates except the two with are elected by the first past the post the most first choice votes are eliminated, system, where the candidate with the which means they are out of the race. most votes in each constituency is elected. The ballot papers from people who voted for eliminated candidates are looked at Your second vote is for an independent again. If any voters have made a second candidate or a political party. These votes choice for one of the two remaining are used to elect 11 additional London- candidates their vote is added to the final wide members. result. The candidate with the most first and second choice votes wins.

This diagram shows how the supplementary vote system works.

Did one candidate get over 50% of the first choice vote?

Yes No

The candidate with over 50% Top two candidates remain, and of the votes is the winner 2nd choice votes from eliminated candidates are added

Candidate with most 1st and 2nd choice votes is the winner

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How do we elect the Northern So, if your first preference candidate Ireland Assembly? does not get elected or if they are elected with a large margin, your vote can still be The voting system used in Northern used to help elect your second preference Ireland is called the single transferable candidate. Indeed, your vote may be vote (STV) system. This system is used transferred a number of times as seats for all elections in Northern Ireland, are filled and may play a part in electing except elections to the UK Parliament. several or all of the six candidates. When you vote in an election for the Northern Ireland Assembly you will be Hot recipe given a ballot paper listing the candidates • Single transferable fruit standing for election in your constituency. These candidates are competing for six constituency seats in total.

On your ballot paper, you should put a ‘1’ in the box next to your first preference candidate, a ‘2’ next to your second preference, a ‘3’ next to your third preference and so on. You can do this for all the people you want to vote for. You do not have to put a number beside every name, but the influence of your vote may be limited if you only vote for a few candidates.

In the first stage, the first preference votes are counted and the quota is calculated. The quota is the minimum number of votes a candidate must have to be elected. Any candidate with a number of first preference votes equal to or higher than the quota is elected.

If fewer than six candidates are elected, the surplus votes from those elected are transferred to second preference candidates. If there are still seats unfilled because six candidates have not reached the quota, candidates with the lowest number of votes are eliminated and their votes transferred to second preference candidates. The process continues until all six seats are filled.

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How do we elect the National How do we elect the Assembly for Wales? Scottish Parliament? There are 60 Members of the National There are 129 Members of the Scottish Assembly for Wales: 40 constituency Parliament: 73 constituency members and members and 20 regional members. The 56 regional members. The Parliament is Assembly is elected using the additional elected using the additional member system. member system. When you vote in a Scottish Parliamentary When you vote in a National Assembly election you have two votes. for Wales election you have two votes. With the first vote you choose between With the first vote you choose between candidates standing for election in your candidates standing in your Assembly parliamentary constituency. constituency. The candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate will There are 73 constituency seats in the be elected to represent you. Parliament. The winning candidate becomes a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Your second vote is to choose a political and will represent your parliamentary party or individual candidate to represent constituency. They will be the candidate your regional constituency. who receives more votes than any other candidate in your constituency. There are four regional members for each of the five electoral regions in Wales. Then you cast a second vote, made on a separate ballot paper, to choose a political The additional member system is quite party or individual candidate to represent tricky and uses a special formula. See the your regional constituency. There are seven activity Electing the Scottish Parliament regional members for each of the eight and National Assembly for Wales in the electoral regions in Scotland. Democracy Cookbook’s Recipes section for a more detailed explanation of how The additional member system is quite tricky this works. and uses a special formula. See the activity Electing the Scottish Parliament and National Hot recipe Assembly for Wales in the Democracy Cookbook’s Recipes section for a more • Electing the Scottish detailed explanation of how this works. Parliament and National Assembly for Wales Stir it up Discuss the different electoral systems. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

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How do we elect How do we elect the European the UK Parliament? Parliament? MPs are elected to the House of Commons If you are voting in a European using a system called first past the post. Parliamentary election in England, Scotland and Wales you elect your Members of the You vote for a candidate in your constituency. European Parliament using the system There are 646 constituencies across the called closed regional lists. UK. Most candidates will be standing for a party. Simply, the candidate with the most Political parties put forward several votes in your constituency is elected and candidates within each European becomes your Member of Parliament. Parliamentary electoral region. This list of candidates is known as a regional list. The party who has most MPs elected across the whole of the UK, wins the election and The party prioritises its candidates so those becomes the Government. They have what at the top the list will have a better chance is called a majority, meaning they have the of becoming an MEP than those largest number of MPs. at the bottom.

You have one vote and you can only Snack break: what is choose the party you wish to vote for, not a hung parliament? the individual candidate. This is why the list is said to be ‘closed’. The only time it’s If no political party had an possible to vote for an individual is if there outright majority, for example is an independent candidate, not standing if three different political parties had for a political party. roughly the same number of MPs elected, it would be called a hung The number of MEPs a party gets elected parliament. This is very rare. It would in your region depends on the overall share mean that two parties would have to of the vote the party receives. get together to form the government. If none of the parties could agree to If you are voting in Northern Ireland form government then Parliament you elect your MEPs using the single would be dissolved and another transferable vote (STV) system. election would have to be held. The most recent hung parliament was See How we elect the between February and October 1974. Northern Ireland Assembly Before that it was in 1929. for an explanation of how STV works.

Hot recipe • First past the post

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How do referendums work?

What is a referendum? Stir it up A referendum is a vote on a question about If you were going to run a a particular issue or policy. It means that referendum in your community the public can make a direct decision on what issue would you choose? a question rather than letting their elected How would you word the question? representatives decide on their behalf.

Usually the public are asked to vote either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. The outcome of the referendum What it boils down to will depend on how many people vote ‘Yes’ A referendum is a vote and how many people vote ‘No’. on a question about a How is a referendum different particular issue or policy. from an election? In an election you choose people or a party Hot recipes to represent your views. In a referendum you • Desert island run by referendum decide and vote on a particular question • Hold your own referendum that is asked directly of you. Why do we have referendums? The United Kingdom is a representative democracy. This means that we elect people, such as Members of Parliament and local councillors, to make political decisions on our behalf.

It is the job of these representatives to decide which ideas they want to make into law. A referendum is held when the Government wants to know what members of the public think about an idea. It would be impractical to have referendums every day of the week about every single issue that has to be decided – nothing would ever get done!

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Why is the question important Snack break in a referendum? In 1997 a referendum was The way in which a question is asked can held in Scotland. Voters determine the answer you are likely to get. were asked whether they agreed or disagreed that there In a referendum it is important that the should be a Parliament in Scotland. question is fair and easy to understand. They were also asked whether the If the question is hard for people to Parliament should have the power to understand or leads them to a particular vary taxes. Nearly 75% of the people answer the result of the referendum might who voted agreed that there should not be a fair reflection of voters’ opinions be a Parliament in Scotland and in on the issue. 1998 the Scottish Parliament was To help make sure that a referendum is fair, established. The Electoral Commission must publish its views on the ‘intelligibility’ of any referendum question that is proposed before it is finalised by the UK Parliament. The Commission considers whether the proposed referendum question is clear, simple and neutral.

Think about questions that you are asked to respond to in everyday life.

For example: Would you like to tidy your room?

This can also be asked in many other ways: • Don’t you think you should tidy your room? • If your room is messy, will you tidy it? • I think your room is a mess and you should tidy it – will you do it now? • I get really annoyed when rooms aren’t tidy. Do you think you should tidy yours? • Is your room tidy enough or could it be tidier?

Different ways of asking a question can lead people to a particular answer.

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Voting

Imagine going into a restaurant You can only vote in an election if you are registered to vote in that area. For example, and letting a stranger across the someone registered in Newcastle cannot other side of the room place your vote in the elections to the National order for you. You wouldn’t have Assembly for Wales. any say in what you are about If you are a student living away from home, to eat! It’s the same if you don’t address. So you can be registered where you live at home and at university. However vote – you are letting other people you can only vote once in any single election. decide for you and you might not To find out who can vote in an election visit find the outcome very appetising. www.aboutmyvote.co.uk Why is voting important? The people who are voted in at elections Snack break make decisions that affect you every day – from what is happening in local schools You have to be on the and what recreational facilities you have, electoral register to be able to national issues like healthcare and to vote in elections or referendums in the UK and in most cases you need education, to global issues like defence to be a UK citizen. There are certain and the environment. people who are not allowed to vote. They are: In some countries such as Australia, voting is compulsory. This means that it is illegal • anyone under 18 years old; not to vote. In the UK, it is your choice • citizens of any country apart whether or not to vote. If you don’t vote from the European Union and however, you are letting other people, who Commonwealth countries; you might not agree with, make decisions • convicted prisoners who are serving about issues that affect you. a sentence (though remand prisoners, unconvicted prisoners and civil prisoners Who can vote? who haven’t paid their fines can vote); To vote in elections in the UK you have to be: • anyone found guilty within the previous five years of corrupt or illegal practices • aged 18 or over; in connection with an election; and • a citizen of the UK, a Commonwealth • under common law, people with country or the Republic of Ireland; mental health issues if, on polling day, they are incapable of making • a citizen of another EU country (although a reasoned judgement. they cannot vote in UK Parliamentary European Union citizens and members elections); of the House of Lords cannot vote in • on the electoral register; and UK Parliamentary elections. • not in a category barred from voting.

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Registering to vote

What is the electoral register? If you live in Northern Ireland visit www.secureyourvote.co.uk, contact the The electoral register is a list of everyone Electoral Office for Northern Ireland on who is registered to vote. You need to be on 028 9044 6688, or email [email protected]. the register before you can vote in an election or referendum. You are not automatically If you are homeless or living in registered, even if you pay council tax. temporary accommodation Who can look at the Homeless people or people living in temporary or long-term hostel electoral register? accommodation are entitled to register There are two versions of the register – to vote. There are two ways of doing the full version and the edited version. this depending on your situation. Your details must always appear on the full version, but you can choose whether or not If you have lived and will be living in your details appear on the edited register. relatively stable accommodation for a year or longer it is possible to register • The full register is used for elections, in the usual way. Contact the electoral preventing and detecting crime, and registration office at your local council checking applications for credit. or visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk • The edited register is for general sale to download a form. and can be used for commercial If your situation is less stable: for activities, such as marketing. example if you are sleeping rough or in • Anyone can look at the electoral register short-term emergency accommodation, by going into their local electoral office. you can register to vote by declaration • The electoral register is not linked to of local connection. council tax. This means that you can register any location where you spend a large proportion How do I register to vote? of your time. This can be a day centre, a You need to fill in an electoral registration doorway, a project base, shop or café, etc. form. A form is sent to your house every year. If you have moved house, or have You can get a form from the electoral not registered before, contact your local registration office at your local council, electoral office. at a library, or a Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Fill it in (you can get someone to help you) The electoral register is updated on a and return it to the address on the form. monthly basis, but it takes about six This registration will last for up to a year weeks to process your registration, so and needs to be renewed every year. You it is important to register well before the need to provide an address where you can day of an election or referendum. collect mail, or alternatively, you can collect it from the electoral registration office. Find out where your local electoral registration office is by contacting your local council or visiting www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. You can also download a registration form from this website.

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If you are on remand or are a patient in a mental health secure hospital Hot recipes Remand prisoners and patients in mental • Reasons to vote health secure hospitals can also register • A short game about voting to vote in this way, but can obviously only • What influences? vote by proxy or by postal vote. See How do you vote? on the next page for more information on different ways of voting.

Stir it up Why do you think young people are among the least likely to vote in an election? What do you think should or could be done to encourage more young people to vote?

What it boils down to • Elections are the process that is used to vote our representatives into power. • The electoral register is a list of everyone who is registered to vote. You need to be on the register before you can vote in an election or referendum. • An electoral registration form is what you fill in to get on the register. • A declaration of local connection form allows people who are homeless or in temporary accommodation to register to vote. You can pick up one of these forms at your local electoral registration office.

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How do you vote?

There are a number of different Collect your ballot paper ways you can vote in an election. The staff at the polling station will give you a list of the people or parties you can vote These are: for. This is called a ballot paper. It will be stamped with an official mark. • in person; • by post; or You may be given more than one ballot paper if there is more than one election • by proxy. or referendum on the same day. Voting in person Go into a polling booth Your poll card Take your ballot paper into a polling booth so that no one can see how you vote. If you are on the electoral register you will be sent a card just before an election. This Mark who or what you want to vote for. is called a poll card and tells you where Different elections and referendums work your polling station is and when you can in different ways so it is important that vote. ‘Polling’ is another word for voting. you understand how to fill in your ballot paper correctly. Ask a polling clerk if you The polling station are unsure. On election day go to the polling station. This is where you cast your vote in person. Do not write anything else on the paper The polling station is often a school or local or your vote may not be counted. hall near to where you live. Polling stations Cast your vote are open from 7am until 10pm. For local government elections they are open from Fold the ballot paper in half and put it 8am until 9pm. in the ballot box. If you are not clear on what to do, ask the staff at the polling Tell the staff inside the polling station your station to help you. Do not let anyone name and address so they can check that see your vote. you’re on the register. You can show them your poll card but you do not need it to In Northern Ireland you must bring one of vote. In Northern Ireland you need to bring the following forms of identification with a suitable form of photo ID with you. you to be able to vote: • a current UK or European Union passport; If you are disabled and need assistance getting to the polling station, your local • a Translink Senior SmartPass electoral office should be able to help you (bus pass for people aged 65+); out. Contact your local authority for more • a current photographic UK driving information (or in Northern Ireland, the licence; or Electoral Office for Northern Ireland). • an electoral identity card.

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But I can’t make it to the polling station… If you want to vote by post, you need to fill in a postal vote form. Contact your local Voting by post electoral registration office or download a If you know you are going to be away or form at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. You can unable to vote in person on election day also pick up a postal vote form from some you can vote by post. You can also choose post offices. The deadline for applying for to vote by post simply because it would be a postal vote is six working days before more convenient. the election.

Here are some things to bear in mind Different arrangements for postal voting if you decide to vote by post. apply in Northern Ireland. For more information visit www.secureyourvote.co.uk, • You can apply to vote by post for a contact the Electoral Office for Northern single election, a specified period, or Ireland on 028 9044 6688, or email indefinitely. [email protected]. • A postal vote can be sent to your home address or any other address specified by you. What it boils down to • Postal votes are usually despatched • A polling station is about a week before polling day. where you can go to cast • Postal votes can be sent overseas, your vote. but you need to consider if there would • Ballot papers are forms that allow be time for you to receive and return your you to cast your vote. ballot paper by polling day. • A polling booth is the private area that • If you have been sent a postal vote, you you stand in when casting your vote. cannot vote in person at a polling station. • Postal votes can be posted back to your local council or returned by hand to the Snack break local council or your local polling station. In Scotland polling stations • Postal votes have to be received by are known as ‘polling places’. your local council or polling station before polling stations close on the day of the election.

Stir it up Would you be more likely to vote if it was more convenient? What method of voting appeals to you most?

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Voting by proxy Snack break: Voting by proxy means that you appoint other ways of voting someone to vote for you at the polling station. If you decide to vote by proxy you Local authorities in England, should be aware of the following points: Wales and Scotland are allowed to conduct pilot schemes to test • You need to tell your proxy which new methods of voting at local candidate(s) you wish to vote for. government elections. New methods • You have to provide a reason to vote by of voting that have been tried as pilot proxy for a single election. You can only schemes include: vote by proxy on an indefinite basis for • e-voting – using the internet and the following reasons: physical incapacity, special kiosks at polling stations or being an overseas voter, being away other public places; because you are studying, if you have to make a journey by sea or air from your • telephone voting; registered address to your polling station, • voting by text message; and being in certain occupations, for example, the armed forces. In addition, • extended voting – where voting takes someone such as a doctor must sign place for more than just one day; and your form if you are applying on medical • early voting – where it is possible to grounds, or your employer if on vote before the allocated polling day; employment grounds. • Your local council can supply you with a form to apply to vote by proxy. Hot recipe • If you change your mind and wish to vote • Vote by numbers in person, you can still do so, providing that your proxy has not already voted on your behalf. • If your proxy cannot get to the polling station, they can apply to vote by post. However, you would not then be able to vote in person. • The deadline for applying to vote by proxy is six working days before the election.

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Got a taste for it?

There are lots of ways to If you are campaigning on a particular issue you may decide that you want get involved in democracy to formally submit a petition to the UK throughout the year, not just Parliament or another democratic body. at election time. To do this you need to follow special guidelines. Here are some pointers on how to submit a formal petition to: If you want to have your views heard on an issue you care about you could: Your local council • submit a petition; Each council has different requirements • write a letter to your local representative; so it is best to consult their website or ask your local councillor. Petitions at this level • provide evidence to a committee; will be focused on local issues, such as • get your representative to ask a question calls to improve a local playground or to on your behalf; prevent a closure of a local facility. They can have quite a big impact at this level if • get involved in a youth council or youth there is a lot of support for your campaign. parliament; or • start a local campaign. The UK Parliament Anyone in the UK can submit a petition Submitting a petition to Parliament. Petitions may be sent to What is a petition? Parliament postage-free and can be presented formally by a Member of A petition is a list of names and basic Parliament (MP) with a short speech, or details of people that support a particular informally in the Petition Bag which hangs issue or campaign. They are normally used on the back of the Speaker’s Chair. to draw attention to a cause. Petitions highlight the level of support for the cause Petitions have a long history as members locally, nationally or internationally. of the public have used them to make their feelings known about issues that concern You may be approached on the street and them. Several thousand people often sign asked to sign a petition. This is a very a petition and Parliament receives over a basic way of becoming involved in the thousand petitions each year. political process. For more information visit Many petitions are also distributed by email www.parliament.uk. or on a website, which obviously has some practical advantages over standing on street corners!

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The National Assembly for Wales The Northern Ireland Assembly Petitions can be presented to the Petitions Public petitions can be presented by a Clerk or any Assembly Member (AM), in Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). writing or in person. The petitioner will be An MLA may present a petition to the given a receipt and an explanation of what Speaker, normally at the beginning of a will then happen to their petition. The petition day’s business. The Member will ‘beg is then checked for ‘reasonableness’. leave’ to lay a petition before the House. They may then say a few words explaining: The full text and the number of signatures on whose behalf it is presented; the on the petition are then published on number of signatures attached to it and the internet to inform the Assembly. The a brief summary of the content. The petition then goes to the appropriate Member then hands over the petition. Assembly Minister or committee and the petitioner will receive a written reply from The Speaker then sends copies of the them. If the petition contains an issue of petition to the relevant minister and major importance it can also be debated Committee Chairperson. in the chamber. For more information visit For more information visit www.niassembly.gov.uk www.wales.gov.uk. Write to or email your The Scottish Parliament representatives You can submit a petition to a Scottish By writing to your representatives you Parliamentary Committee either in writing are making them aware of what you think or through an e-petition. The Scottish about an issue. Most representatives look Parliament has a dedicated committee to at all letters and emails from the people deal with petitions from individuals, groups they represent. The more people who write and organisations. If you submit a petition to a representative on a particular issue, you may be asked to speak directly with the more they will sit up and take notice. the committee to raise your concerns. Before you write, find out which of your The committee can pass your petition on representatives is responsible for the issue to other committees of the Parliament, or you are concerned about. Make it clear in to other bodies and organisations outside your letter or email what action you would of Parliament for further consideration. like your representative to take. All petitions get a written response and do not rely on a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) to support or push it. See Who represents me? For more information visit to find out who your www.scottish.parliament.uk. representatives are, what they do and how to contact them.

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Get your representative to Give evidence to an ask an ‘official’ question official committee All MPs, MSPs, AMs and MLAs have the right Committees are the part of our democratic to ask or ‘table’ questions to government institutions that investigate issues in-depth. ministers and departments. You can write To do this they gather evidence and make to your representative and request that they recommendations. It is possible for you or ask a question addressing your concerns. your youth organisation to give evidence to There are two main forms of questions in a committee to let them know your views the UK Parliament: on the issues they are investigating. • questions for oral (spoken) answers; and There are a number of ways you can do this. • questions for written answers. Committees will invite ‘experts’ to give ‘oral’ About 50,000 of these ‘parliamentary evidence. This means sitting in front of the questions’ are raised each year. committee members and answering their questions. For example children and young In the House of Commons, oral questions people were able to provide their views on are asked during an official ‘Question Time’ children rights to a UK Parliament select which takes place for an hour on Mondays, committee on Human Rights. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The different Government Departments It is only possible for a limited number answer questions according to a rota of people to give evidence in person so and the questions asked must relate to the committees also ask for written evidence. responsibilities of the department concerned. This means that you can send your views into the committee to tell them what you There is a limit to the number of oral think about the issue they are looking into. questions that can be asked, but MPs can ask a larger number of written questions. Some committees also run discussion Questions are usually answered in seven forums on a website so you can make working days. All answers are documented your views known online. in ‘The Questions Book’ in Hansard, which is the official parliamentary record. Most of our democratic institutions have similar arrangements for giving evidence This is a good way to get your views heard to committees and will provide guidance and to get a specific answer to what may on how you go about doing it. be a complicated issue. It may take some time however. Your MP may get a lot of To find out what issues are currently requests to ask questions, or the department being investigated keep an eye on the that has to be asked may not be answering institution websites: again for a while. It pays to be patient! www.parliament.uk; www.scottishparliament.uk; www.wales.gov.uk; or www.niassembly.gov.uk.

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Get involved in a youth forum Local councils are currently committed to or youth council providing opportunities for young people to put forward their views. Look out for Your local youth forum is somewhere you advertisements in your local area, in your can let off steam about the things that you local paper or get in touch with your local care about. It also gives you access to the authority for more details. people who help make decisions about your local area. The organisations are Hot recipes an extension of the formal institutions of democracy and allow young people from • Turning opinions into action all walks of life to come together on • How can I be a political animal? common issues.

On the side: what is being a • a directory of services – there are lots youth mayor all about? of services for young people in Lewisham, but people were unaware Lewisham’s first ever youth mayor, of what they are; 17 year-old Manny Hawkes talks about his achievements. • setting up the ‘be involved’ website – this is a direct feed into democracy ‘I like to know what’s going on around me where young people can access so when I heard about the opportunity to members of the council or the youth run as youth mayor I couldn’t resist. I had advisory group; and to get 30 young people from Lewisham • running a 10 x 10 over cricket to nominate me. The council then gave tournament for primary schools. all the people running for youth mayor election training, which taught us how It’s taken a while to get things happening. to get our ideas across clearly. Working with the council requires patience because things happen slowly. As youth mayor I’m not in charge of young You just need a bit of assertiveness and people, but I advise the council on how to willpower. When I first started I was more best serve young people in the borough. laid back, but now I say ‘I want this done I work with a youth advisory group made and I want it done now!’ If you can be up of people aged 11-25. We have a bothered to get something done, other budget of £25,000 which we get to people will see what you do and want to spend on services for young people. get involved as well. Things that we’ve got off the My advice to young people is that if you ground include: have a problem with something in your • setting up a rehearsal space for bands; area or a problem with how the country • running community safety workshops is being run, you can’t complain if you for young people that showed people can’t be bothered to do something how to develop self-awareness and about it. Politics affects all of us deal with the fear of crime; and it’s not going to go away by ignoring it.’

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Chef’s suggestions

The Electoral Commission has a range of The Hansard Society also has a range websites to inform you about voting and of representatives in schools packs that democracy in the UK: contain step by step guides to inviting www.aboutmyvote.co.uk – everything you an MP, MSP, MEP or AM to talk to young need to know about voting in Britain. people at school. www.hansardsociety.org.uk www.secureyourvote.com – everything you need to know about voting in The Hansard Society’s Y Vote Mock Northern Ireland. Elections website gives a step by step guide to running your own mock election. www.electoralcommission.org.uk – everything you need to know about www.mockelections.co.uk The Electoral Commission. Young People and Citizenship is a www.dopolitics.co.uk – resources for resource handbook for youth workers, young people and youth workers, this Connexions personal advisers and PSHE website also features the Democracy teachers, which contains almost 100 Cookbook’s recipes and more. activities to use with young people. It is written by Vanessa Rogers and produced Young London is a website that provides by the National Youth Agency. young people with information about the www.nya.org.uk governance of London and advice about issues that affect them. You can also give Explore Parliament is a comprehensive feedback on the London Mayor’s work. and accessible website for young people www.london.gov.uk/young-london that covers everything to do with the UK Parliament. The Local Government Association’s www.explore.parliament.uk Local Democracy Campaign has resources designed to get local councillors The Citizenship Foundation’s Young and young people talking. These include Citizen’s Passport explains, as simply as a political speed-dating DVD and an possible, parts of the law that have most interactive web based resource; I’m relevance to the everyday life of young a councillor get me out of here. people in the UK. www.localdemocracyweek.info www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk Developed in Northern Ireland, Where Is Demgames is a collection of challenging My Public Servant (WIMPS) is a website but fun online games that help young that helps young people connect with people learn about UK democracy, with their elected representatives, ask them a particular focus on local government. questions and find out what they’re doing. www.demgames.org www.wimps.org.uk Part of Europa, the European Union’s The Hansard Society’s Heads Up website portal site, EuropaGo is another collection is a place where young people can debate of online games with a focus on the political issues and current affairs. The European Union. debates involve the UK’s top decision- www.europa.eu.int/europago makers from parliament and government who want to understand the views and experiences of young Britain. www.headsup.org.uk Chef’s suggestions Democracy Cookbook_ingred_ENG 4/10/05 15:07 Page 114

Other useful organisations and websites: On They work for you find out what your BBC Citizenship What does it mean to be MP is up to, how they have voted and what a citizen? they have said in Parliament. www.bbc.co.uk/schools/11_16/citizenship www.theyworkforyou.com .shtml The Scottish Youth Parliament provides a The British Youth Council encourages collective voice for young people in Scotland young people to bring about change on issues that affect them. through taking collective action. www.scottishyouthparliament.org.uk www.byc.org.uk Young Scot is the national youth The Carnegie Young People Initiative information portal for Scotland. It covers a campaigns to involve young people wide range of issues and a ‘have your say’ in decision-making at community and interactive function. national levels. www.youngscot.org.uk www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk On the UK Youth Parliament website find Channel 4 Citizenship has a range out how to become a Member of the UK of resources for young people and for Youth Parliament and represent young teachers. Search for citizenship, citizen people in your area. power or citizenship teachers resources. www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk www.channel4.com/learning Votes for Women explores voting The Citizenship Foundation is an issues for girls and women, and the independent charity that aims to empower suffragists movement. individuals to engage in their community www.votesforwomen.org.uk through education about the law, democracy and society. Funky dragon, the Children and Young People’s Assembly for Wales, is a peer-led www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk organisation. Their aim is to give children Fax your MP is a tool for contacting your MP. and young people the opportunity to get www.faxyourmp.com their voices heard on issues that affect them. www.funkydragon.org Generation Why is a website for 18 to 25 year olds from Oxfam, which tells you why Websites for our democratic institutions it is so important to vote. www.europa.eu.int www.oxfam.org.uk/generationwhy www.london.gov.uk On Number 10 Downing Street find out www.niassembly.gov.uk what the Prime Minister is up to, read about www.parliament.uk the latest news briefings and email the PM. www.scottish.parliament.uk www.number-10.gov.uk www.wales.gov.uk Operation Black Vote encourages participation in democracy and voting within the black community. www.obv.org.uk

DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK