The Scottish Parliament

1. The Scottish Parliament

2. Scottish Identity Aims: • Identify ways in which Scotland has its own identity. • Examine the arguments for and against the Scottish Parliament

3. Elections For the Scottish Parliament Aims: • Identify how the Scottish Parliament is elected.

4. Electing the Scottish Parliament • The voting system is called the Additional Members System (AMS). It is a form of Proportional Representation. • There are 129 MSPs in the Scottish Parliament.

5. Voters have TWO VOTES: • The first vote is for a CANDIDATE. • Voters elected an MSP for their constituency. • There are 73 constituency MSPs. • The winner is decided using First Past the Post

6. 1st Vote – Ballot Paper

7. 2007 Election – First Vote

8. The Second Vote • Scotland is divided into EIGHT regions. • Each region elects 7 LIST OR REGIONAL MSPs. • Voters in that region vote for a PARTY. • Each party draws up a list of candidates. • A complicated formula is then used to decide how many regional MSPs each party gets.

9. 2007 Election – Second Vote

10. Rhoda Grant, Labour Regional MSP Jamie McGrigor, Conservative Regional MSP Jim Mather SNP Constituency MSP Rob Gibson SNP Regional MSP Peter Peacock, Labour Regional MSP Mary Scanlon, Conservative Regional MSP David Stewart, Labour Regional MSP Dave Thompson, SNP Regional MSP

11. 2007 Election • There are 129 MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. • A party would have to win 65 seats to have a majority.

12. 2007 Election – Overall Result

13. Advantages % of seats a party gets is roughly the same as its % of the vote. Easier for smaller parties to win seats. People have two votes – more choice. Parties have worked well in coalition governments. Disadvantages Hard for voters to understand how the system works. More likely to have a coalition government – coalitions might break down if parties disagree. Voters are unsure which MSP to contact if they have a problem. The Additional Member System

14. Electing the Scottish Parliament Aims: • Examine the outcome of the 2011 election and the AV referendum. • Identify the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in this election.

15. 2011 Election Results

16. Note: • The SNP now have an overall majority. • All the other main political parties lost seats in the election. • The turnout was 50.7% • Other parties – 2 Green Party MSPs and 1 Independent MSP. Margo MacDonald Independent MSP Eleanor Scott Green MSP Patrick Harvie Green MSP

17. The AV Referendum • Across the UK voters were asked if they wanted to change from FPTP to the Alternative Vote (AV) system. • 67.9 % of voters were against AV in the referendum.

18. What Is The Scottish Government? • The Scottish Government is responsible for running those areas which Scotland is allowed to organise for itself e.g. education, health. • The First Minister is elected by MSPs and is usually the leader of the largest party. • The Scottish Government is then chosen by the First Minister – he will select MSPs from his party. • Each MSP will be responsible for a department and be known as a ‘Scottish Minister’. • Each minister has to answer to Parliament for all the work of their department.

19. The Powers of the Scottish Parliament Aims: • Examine the main powers of the Scottish Parliament. • Identify the modern features of the Scottish Parliament.

20. Supervises the Scottish Government Makes Laws Powers of the Scottish Parliament Changes Taxes Investigate Issues

21. A Modern Scottish Parliament Using page 31, explain how the Scottish Parliament is more up-to-date than the House of Commons in the following areas: • Seating arrangements • Hours of sitting • How MSPs address each other in the chamber • Electronic Voting

22. The Powers of the Scottish Parliament Devolved Powers: Health Transport Education Law Local Government Fire Service Social Work Environment Housing Agriculture Economic Development Tax

23. The Powers of the British Parliament Tax Defence Foreign Affairs Economic Policy Social Security Immigration Drug Control

24. Contacting Your MSP The work of an MSP is very similar to that of an MP. You can contact your MSP by: • Letters or e-mail • Surgery • Telephone

25. The Work of an MSP in Their Constituency In their constituency MSPs will: • Holding surgeries • Attend local meetings • Go on fact-finding visits • Attend local events

26. The Work of an MSP Note: MSPs can meet on a Monday afternoon or Friday morning in exceptional circumstances

27. Committees Debates The Work of an MSP in the Scottish Parliament Question Time Introduce a Member’s Bill

28. Introducing New Laws: Laws can be introduced by: • A Government Minister • A Committee • An MSP

29. The Work of an MSP In the Scottish Parliament Committees • An MSP will be a member of several committees. • Each committee examines what the Scottish government is doing in a certain area e.g. education. • Bills are sent to committees before the Parliament considers them. • Committees can introduce bills to change the law

30. The Work of an MSP in the Scottish Parliament Debates • MSPs can debate, discuss and vote on issues affecting their constituents. Question Time • Each week the First Minister and other government ministers will face questions from MSPs. • MSPs will ask questions about what the government is doing to help people in their consituency.

31. The Work of an MSP in the Scottish Parliament Making Laws • MSPs will vote on whether a Bill becomes law or not. • Every MSP also gets the chance to introduce two Member’s Bills in a four-year period. • For example, Margo MacDonald tried to introduce a bill on assisted suicide.

32. Public Petition • The Public Petitions Committee must consider petitions which have been handed in by members of the public. • A petition might want to introduce a new law, change an existing law or express concern about an issue. • If the committee thinks it is a good petition, they can send it to another committee to deal with or introduce a new Bill to change the law. • This in an important opportunity for the public and pressure groups to influence the work of Parliament.

33. Constituents Party Local area National Interest Family Ideological Beliefs Individual conscience Pressure Groups Media Pressures on an MSP

34. How Representative is the Scottish Parliament? Aims: • Examine the representation of women and ethnic minorities in the Scottish Parliament.

35. At the moment women make up 51% of the Scottish population. The number of female MSPs has varied in recent years. If they were to be fairly represented there would be 66 female MSPs in the Scottish Parliament

36. Why Are Women Under-Represented? • Parties are reluctant to choose female candidates because they think they might lose voters. • Many women are the main carers in their family – living and working in Edinburgh during the week is not practical. • Although the Scottish Parliament has more family friendly hours of work it is still difficult for women with young families to balance their responsibilities. • Many women take a career break when they have family – a political career takes many years to develop. Aileen Campbell, aged 26 was the youngest woman to be elected as an MSP in the 2011 election.

37. At the moment ethnic minorities make up 4% of the Scottish population. The number of ethnic minority MSPs has increased slightly in recent years. If they were to be fairly represented there would be 36 ethnic minority MSPs in the Scottish Parliament.

38. Why Are Ethnic Minorities Under-Represented? • Parties are reluctant to choose ethnic minority candidates because they think they might lose voters. • People from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to join political parties – they often feel the policies of the main parties do little to help them. • Some ethnic minorities are less likely to stay on at school or go onto university. The more educated a person is the more likely they are to take part in politics. • The Scottish Parliament is predominately white. Many ethnic minorities feel they have few political role models to follow. Humsa Yousaf was one of only two ethnic minority MSPs to be elected in the 2011 election.