Mar 19 2007
Study Theme One: Living in a Democracy
Living in a Democracy – Syllabus Area 1
Key Concepts –
1. Participation
2. Representation
3. Rights and responsibilities
The ways candidates are chosen/ elected to be representatives in:
· The Scottish Parliament
· The UK Parliament
· Local councils
· The workplace
The ways representatives work on behalf of the people that they represent.
· In their constituency
· In their workplace
· In the parliament
How individuals or groups can influence or participate in decisions made at the local and national level or in the workplace:
· By voting
· As members of political parties
· As members of pressure groups
· As members of trade unions
The rights and responsibilities of people and groups participating in a democracy.
Questions to help you revise:
– How do MPs/MSPs represent their constituents both inside and outside parliament?
– What are the arguments for and against the First Past The Post electoral system?
– What are the arguments for and against Proportional Representation?
– How does a constituency party select its MP?
– In what ways can people participate in politics in the UK?
– What are the social and economic factors that reduce female representation in parliament?
– What rights and responsibilities do people have in a democratic society?
– Why should protest always remain within the law?
– What influences MPs when making decisions?
– What are the most effective methods used by pressure groups to participate in a democratic society?
– What are the arguments that can be used to support the view that councillors are the best people to represent the interests of local people?
This power point will tell you about the work of the local government/ council22-councils-councillors.ppt
This one will help you to understand pressure groups.
This is the one that we used to understand trade unions.
This one is about different methods of supporting a political party.
Here are 6 different types of campaign methods.
An example of some work from S4 on pressure group methods.