Starter Name at the top of your handout. 1 Circle the correct answer to the question at the top

1. 30th March 11Politics and all that - Do we have a fair voting system in the UK?LO: To recap on the system of government in the UK and the main political parties.To understand the term devolution.To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV. Starter Name at the top of your handout. 1 Circle the correct answer to the question at the top 2 Link the correct political party to the colours, emblems and people and then answer the 10 true/false questions. BIGHEAD?

2. LO: To recap on the system of government in the UK and the main political parties. Recap – political parties and key terms Political parties. Political parties are groups of people with similar ideological belief who form parties with the aim to one day forming a govt eg Labour, conservatives, liberal democrats, UKIP, the Greens etc Key words Cabinet – the prime minister and senior MP’s who control different sections or portfolios eg Foreign affairs, the environment, the home office. A constituency – an area of the country with about 60 000 voters represented by one MP. There are currently 646 constituencies in the UK but it is about to be reduced. The opposition – the party who sits in opposition to the govt eg in the House of Commons the labour party sits in opposition.

3. LO: To recap on the system of government in the UK and the main political parties. Political Parties - What do they stand for? Traditionally the Labour Party were the party of the Left - the party of the working classes eg the poor/ less well off. They were always linked to the redistribution of wealth eg the more wealthy pay more tax to compensate for the less wealthy. Labour was and still is linked to Trade Unions fighting for workers rights ,a fair wage eg the minimum wage and public services eg the health service, free education for all etc. Traditionally the Conservative Party was the party of the Right - the party of the rich, landowners, businessmen and middle classes. The Conservatives believe more in the private sector eg banking, free enterprise & business than the public sector eg state funded thus tend to reduce the public sector. The Liberal Democrats have tended to be the Centre party - they promote liberal values, free enterprise but more equality in society. They believe in public services and civil liberties so the less state interference in your life the better. They were very against the Iraq war and initially student tuition fees! However – all of the parties have tended to move into the centre ground. The Greens & Respect are to the left of Labour & UKIP and the BNP are to the right of the Conservative party. Far left: Left Centre Right Far Right Communism Fascism Mussolini Che Guevara Nazism Hitler Marx & Lenin

4. Bighead • Be aware(GCSE G/F) – I can understand simple key words (very basic knowledge) • Illustrate (GCSE E) – I can explain in detail what key words mean • Give examples (GCSE D) – I can give real examples of how people use key words/ ideas etc • Have a conclusion (GCSE C) – I can show 2 sides of an argument and make my own conclusion from them. • Evaluate (GCSE B) – I can weigh up the value, quality or importance of an idea and use this to make my conclusion stronger. • Analyse (GCSE A) – I can look more deeply into an argument or idea to understand all parts of it and then evaluate each part before concluding. • Develop your ideas (GCSE A*) – i can take an idea or concept beyond the context in which it has been given and use other ideas to compare it to. LO: What is your target grade?

5. Government and Parliament What does Govt do? • Proposes new laws • Represents the UK at home and abroad • Is accountable for all key decisions in various sectors eg defence, environment , the judiciary, culture etc • Responsible for the country’s budget eg finances. • Answer to any questions queries from MP’s (30 000 written questions in any one year) Q – What does the Prime Minister do? What does Parliament do? • Debate the big issues • Receive reports from govt • Ask questions • Hold the govt to account • Examine and discuss proposals for new laws • Vote on new laws • Can bring a govt down via a vote of no confidence. Difficulties can arise when Govt’s have large majorities of MP’s eg 350 Conservative/ Labour MP’s out of 446. LO: To recap on the system of government in the UK and the main political parties. (AFL – Mock)

6. Devolution Devolutionsimply means a transfer of power from national government to regional government eg Parliament in London to Scotland/ Wales / Northern Ireland/ London. Look at the Democracy tree... The people in Wales. Scotland , Northern Ireland & London all voted overwhelmingly in a referendum in 1997 for devolved Govt and by 1999 the Scottish Parliament, Welsh assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly & London assembly were established via elections. A Parliament has more powers than an Assembly. LO: To understand the term devolution.

7. Recap • Representative Democracy - where citizens vote for representatives (MP’s) to represent them when voting on issues in Parliament. • A referendum – a vote on a single issue in which all citizens can take part (who are registered to vote). Note:the last referendum was in 1975 and we are going to have another one on 5th May on the issue of whether we should change our voting system from first past the post to AV (the alternative vote). Referendums can be linked to classical democracy in Greece when everyone could vote on all issues apart from women and slaves! You are going to watch some clips to explain.... LO: To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV.

8. Key Terms FPTP • First past the post /electoral system – the party with the most votes wins as long and they get the overall majority eg half the number of seats 326 / 650 in the UK. Suitable for two party elections eg Conservatives versus Labour. Currently used in the UK and USA. • Proportional Representation (PR) – an electoral system in which the number of seats a party wins is roughly proportional to its national share of the vote. PR is used in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia, EU and many European countries. • The Alternative Vote (AV- the preference vote) something between the two above egnot proportional representation but a little bit more fair than first past the post eg a winning candidate/ MP needs to gain at least 50% of the vote. Our Canterbury MP Julian Brazier got elected in on 44% of the vote at the last election! PR & AV LO: To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV.

9. LO: To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV. 2010 Election Results First Past the Post (FPTP) Proportional Representation (PR) Note: the Conservatives did not win the overall majority of seats eg 326/ 650 so they went into coalition (govt sharing) with the Lib Dems Q1 – What do you notice? Q2 – Which systems seems more fair?

10. 2010 election Results with the Alternative Vote (AV) LO: To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV. 1 What do you notice between the three? 2 Which one is the most fair and why?

11. Tactical Voting : where a person will vote a party they would not normally in order to avoid the worst alternative. Is it worth voting yes for AV on May 5th? Arguments for AV Arguments against AV Our current system of FPTP is simple with a clear cut winner & would be too expensive to change. It is too complicated eg people will not understand voting by preference eg 1, 2, 3... It will lead to indecisive coalition governments. Coalition govts are not good for democracy . It is not even proportional so would not make much of a difference. • It may not be proportional representation but it is a start to changing things so by demanding MP’s need at least 50% of the vote to win is more fair than our current system which allows for tactical voting. • Voters get to vote in order of preference. • Our current system allows Parties to win political power with just over a third of votes. • Should increase voter apathy – eg voters feel less inclined to vote in safe seta constituencies such as Canterbury as a result of our current FPTP system. • The current system is outdated as it supports only a two party race eg not other parties. • AV does not always lead to coalition govt eg Australia, Sweden LO: To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV.

12. Where do the Parties stand on AV?Many of the parties voting for eg YES in the referendum actually want PR not AV but see it as a first step to further change: Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru, Greens, UKIP. For UndecidedAgainst LO: To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV.

13. LO: To recap on the system of government in the UK and the main political parties.To understand the term devolution.To understand different types of voting/ electoral systems: FPTP, PR & AV. Homework: revision using your revision booklet , practice questions & frog. Plenary Task 1 Political Party Check ..... 2 Referendum check 3Devolution Check 4 Exam practice (literacy) 20 mins “We do not have a fair voting/ electoral system in the UK so people must vote yesin the May 5th referendum?” Explain whether you agree with the statement above in your answer you must include the following: • An explanation of our current voting/ electoral system. (B) • An explanation of AV and who supports it. (BIG E) • Arguments for and against AV. (BIG EA) • You must give examples to back up your arguments (BIG EA) • Explain why you agree or disagree with the statement. (BIGHEAD)