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 First published 2005 Second edition 2007 © The Electoral Commission 2005, 2007 ISBN 1-904363-59-8 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. 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 recipes (activities, games and Points you to relevant activities 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. 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 in and out. There are no page numbers so you can reorder sections as you need. The information contained in each of the sections does cross over and we have provided links to related issues throughout the Cookbook. This is a work in progress. We will be serving up new courses regularly on our website www.dopolitics.org.uk to add into this folder. We welcome your feedback and recipe suggestions! Simply email us at [email protected]. Get cooking 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]. DEMOCRACY COOKBOOK 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 your dinner? The UK Government putting in road decides how much safety The European Union set levels for the amount of VAT you have to pay Used pesticides that can be used 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! What’s it all about? 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. What’s it all about? 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.