Standard Grade Modern Studies Living in A Democracy Section 1 Below is a table of words and definitions. The words have been placed beside the wrong definitions. Cut and paste the correct word beside the correct definition, or draw a similar table in your jotter and fill it in. Draw the table in your jotter, and fill in the right hand side by providing your own definition. Look up the words in a dictionary or check with the word bank to see how many you got right. A type of political system where people have SINGLE MEMBER CONSTITUENCY their say on who will become their representatives and the laws that will be made PROPORTIONAL A particular local area that elects one MSP to REPRESENTATION represent it. The idea of “taking part”. In this case taking MEMBERS OF THE SCOTTISH part in a democracy and influencing the PARLIAMENT (MSPs) decisions that are made. The system of voting where the number of DEMOCRACY seats won in the Parliament should be similar to the number of votes each party receives in an election. The idea of acting on behalf of someone else. PARTICIPATION For example, MSPs represent their constituents (the people living in the area where they were elected). Made up of a group of constituencies REPRESENTATION representing a wide geographical area and represented by seven MSPs RIGHTS Things you are expected to do and should do The individuals elected to serve and represent RESPONSIBILITIES the people of Scotland in Parliament. There are 129 MSPs. DEVOLVED MATTERS Areas that the Scottish Parliament can make laws on RESERVED MATTERS Areas that the UK Parliament in Westminster still make laws on REGION Things you are entitled to do 1 Standard Grade Modern Studies Living in A Democracy Section 2 Could you represent the people in your area? Are you good at debating? Can you make decisions on behalf of other people? Are you good at listening to different points of view? You could apply to your local political party or stand as an independent candidate and perhaps become a Selection of Candidates for the Scottish Parliament The majority of people who want to be a representative in the Scottish Parliament have to participate in a selection process. This is a bit like applying for a job. They may be interviewed, possibly have to give talks and answer questions about their ideas and what they want to do in the Parliament, in the constituency or region. Many will have to persuade the political party they belong to that they would make the best representative in the Parliament for the people in their area and that they would also be good party workers. The different political parties all have their own way of selecting candidates. This is how the main parties have selected their candidates in recent elections: 1 The Scottish Labour Party In 1999, a Selection Board was made up of people from the UK and Scottish sections of the Labour Party. They drew up a list of approved candidates. Labour wanted to achieve better elected representation of women in the Scottish Parliament and therefore in their selection process they paired constituencies. Two constituencies were brought together as selection partners, working to choose the two best people, one a man and the other a woman, to be the Labour candidates for their constituencies. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party In 1999, the vetting of parliamentary candidates was carried out by a four-member Board appointed by the Party’s ruling body. The Board was independent of all other sections of the Party. It oversaw the fairness of selection procedures although candidates were selected by the Party’s members in each constituency. The Scottish Green Party The Scottish Green Party only fielded candidates in the regional lists. They held a postal ballot in the region, with the candidates being ranked in order of preference. There was also the chance to put a “negative vote” against the name of a candidate that was thought to be totally unsuitable. The Scottish Liberal Democratic Party The Liberal Democrats created a list of approved candidates from which local party sections were able to select the person who would represent them in the election. The Party at national level asked the local parties to be aware of the need to have more women in the Parliament but this was not made compulsory. The Scottish National Party The SNP had a list of approved candidates from which the local SNP constituency parties were able to nominate candidates. If there is more than one candidate nominated in the constituency all the members of the party in the area vote by Single Transferable Vote to select the candidate. PROSPECTIVE PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES The people who stand in the election hoping to be chosen as Members of the Scottish Parliament are known as Prospective Parliamentary Candidates. 2 Most candidates belong to a political party and have been selected as the representative of that party. Once the party has chosen who they want as their candidate then that person will be given lots of support and help. For example, Shona Robison is a member of the Scottish National Party, and is a Member of the Scottish Parliament. How did she become an MSP? 1. Shona joined the SNP when she was 22 years old. 2. She persuaded the Party that she would make a good MSP and was put on the Regional list for North East Scotland at the 1999 elections. She was successfully elected for that region as an MSP. 3. For the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections, Shona was selected from SNP prospective candidates to be the candidate for the Dundee City East Constituency. 4. The local party supported Shona in her election campaign 5. Shona was successful in being elected as MSP for the Dundee City East constituency and is now their representative in the Scottish Parliament. Not all candidates will be members of a political party. Some people choose to stand as Independent Candidates. They must find support for their campaign from people who feel they would make a good representative for the area. If they are successful they can become an Independent MSP in the Scottish Parliament. In the 2011 elections there was one successful Independent candidate. This was Margo MacDonald who is now an MSP for the Lothians Region. Not all candidates who stand for election to the Parliament are successful. Indeed as there are only 129 seats in the Parliament the vast majority of candidates will be unsuccessful. They will have to wait for the next election before they compete for the opportunity to: 1. Be selected by their political parties. 2. Stand as a prospective parliamentary candidate. 3. Try to persuade enough constituents to vote for them and become an MSP. 3 Activities Knowledge and Understanding 1. Describe in detail how at least two of the political parties selected prospective parliamentary candidates. 2. Explain how the Labour Party sought to increase the number of female prospective parliamentary candidates. 3. Using the case studies on page 3, explain the main difference between the election of Shona Robison MSP and an Independent MSP. 4. ONLINE ACTIVITY: Find out who was successful at the Scottish Parliament elections in your constituency and region by going to the Scottish Parliament’s website www.scottish.parliament.uk click on the section MSPs and follow the instructions. Copy the following table into your jotter and fill in the details from the information you find. This activity can also be done as a group activity to produce a wall chart of your constituency, and regional MSPs who represent you. (You may want to add other information; such as the Committees they sit on, their addresses to write to them or any other interesting information.) What does your class feel is important to record about your MSPs? THE CONSTITUENCY MSP The name of my constituency is: The name of my constituency MSP is: The Political Party my constituency MSP belongs to is: The contact details for my constituency MSP are: Parliament: Constituency: Email: [email protected] THE REGIONAL MSPs (you will need to do seven of these) The name of my region is: The name of my regional MSP is: The Political Party my regional MSP belongs to is: The contact details for my regional MSP are: Parliament: Constituency: Email: [email protected] 4 Activities Enquiry Skills 1. Some people have criticised the way the main Parties select their candidates saying that only people who always agree with their Party will be selected. What evidence is there that the Parties have a powerful say in who is chosen? 2. In your opinion, why do you think the Parties want to have a say in who is chosen as their prospective parliamentary candidates? Political Party Number of Female MSPs Scottish Labour Party 17 Scottish National Party 19 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party 6 Scottish Liberal Democratic Party 1 Scottish Green Party 1 Independents 1 45 Total Number of female MSPs 129 Total Number of MSPs 3. What evidence is there in the table above that women are under-represented as MSPs at the Parliament? 4. In your opinion, why do you think some people want to widen representation amongst women and minority groups? Key Points People who want to become MSPs go through the same type of process as you would when applying for any job: interviews, presentations, etc. They need to convince their political party that they are the best person for the job. Different political parties have different methods of selecting people to be the person who will represent them in the election to become an MSP.