Participation in the Political System

1. Participation in the Political System Starter Task List as many different ways as you can in which UK/Scottish citizens can participate in democracy today

2. Today we will… • Outlinethe ways that citizens can be informed about politics • Identifysome of the ways that citizens can participate in British democracy

3. Success Criteria • I can list and explain the ways citizens can participate in politics.

4. How can citizens participate in the UK? • Voting • Joining a political party • Campaigning • Protesting • Standing as a candidate • Joining a pressure group • Contacting representatives • Stay informed/media (watch news, read paper, social media etc.) • Public petitions

5. How can citizens participate in the UK? • Questions in the exam are likely to be about whether citizens do have an impact or do not have an impact on decision-making. • We will focus mostly on the Scottish Parliament although UK wide examples are also very useful.

6. Voting Example: MP: Carol Monaghan MSPs: Constituency – Bill Kidd; Regional: Patrick Harvie, James Kelly, Johann Lamont, Pauline McNeill, AnasSarwar, Adam Tomkins, Annie Wells. Councillors: … • Knowledge - Citizens have the right (and responsibility) to vote in elections. This enables citizens to chose who represents them at a variety of different governmental levels. Citizens can vote for MPs in UK elections… MSPs in Scottish Parliament elections… and councillors in local council elections. • Analysis – Citizens can influence decision-making because they choose their representatives and can vote out representatives/parties that they don’t want. For example, the Liberal Democrats have been punished by voters since 2010 for going back on a promise not to increase tuition fees. Lib Dems lost 12 of their 17 seats in the 2011 SP election – arguably a direct result of Nick Clegg’s failed promise.

7. Voting • Knowledge - However, it could be argued that perhaps voters’ power is restricted. In UK elections for example, the FPTP system means that many votes for parties are wasted – only one winner per constituency. The Lib Dems got 23% of the vote in 2010 but only got 9% of the seats. • Analysis – The nature of the voting system for the UK Parliament means that voters’ power is restricted and elections continue to be dominated by the bigger parties.

8. Voting • Knowledge – the SP uses the AMS system which leads a more proportional result with the views of more people being reflected in Parliament. • E.g. 6 Green MSPs in SP just now, Scottish Conservatives won many seats through the regional voting system, including 2 in the Glasgow region – a former Labour heartland. • However, despite the use of AMS in Scottish Parliament elections, for the past 11 years the SNP have formed the government in Scotland - this does not match up with the ideals which the Scottish Parliament in based upon - consensus, sharing of power etc. • Analysis – The AMS system empowers voters and ensures that the views of voters are better represented in the SP however, there is no guarantee that governmental power will be similarly shared amongst parties.

9. Joining a Political Party • Knowledge - Citizens have the right to join a political party. Someone from a more affluent background who is critical of high public spending and high taxes might join the Conservative Party whereas someone whose main concern is the environment might join the Green Party. • Members of parties can influence decision-making by voting on party policies and for party leaders. Jeremy Corbyn received very high levels of support from ordinary Labour party members despite not being very popular with Labour MPs in 2015.

10. SNP Members elected Nicola Sturgeon as their new leader after Alex Salmond stepped down. Essentially they elected the new First Minister. • Analysis – Citizens have power as they can join parties which reflect their own views and can have a massive internal influence. This internal party influence will effect how each political party acts in parliament.

11. Join a Political Party • Knowledge – However, members of parties do not always agree with party policies and can often do little to impact the decisions of party leaders. The Conservatives have seen a major split in the party over the EU and Brexit. Also, the SNP lost members (and MSPs) after the party changed its stance on NATO membership. • Analysis – Not all members will be satisfied with party policy shifts which shows a restriction in their poweralthough, in fairness it is a case of majority rules within all political parties

12. Knowledge – Membership of the SNP and Green Parties rocketed following the independence referendum… however the SNP lost seats at the last Scottish Parliament elections. • Analysis – This means having a higher party membership does not necessarily convince voters as shown by the recent election results.

13. Campaigning • Knowledge - Individuals can campaign for a political party or about an issue they feel strongly about. This might involve distributing leaflets, canvassing (going door to door), fundraising, taking part in demonstrations, etc. • For example, the Yes and Better Together campaigns spent months trying to convince voters to vote Yes or No in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. • Similarly, the Leave and Remain campaigns during the European Union “Brexit” Referendum in 2016 relied heavily on the campaigning of ordinary citizens. This resulted in an extremely close result:

14. Analysis – This was in part due to the efforts of campaigners, during both referendums, which shows that citizens can have an influence on decision-making and can convince other people to change their minds on political issues.

15. Campaigning • Knowledge – However, in the Scottish Independence Referendum, the Yes campaign ultimately failed with 55% of the country voting No. But this may well have been more down to the efforts of the Better Together campaign who successfully campaigned for a No vote. • Analysis – Campaigners in the independence referendum undoubtedly played their part in convincing voters and this shows that citizens can have a real impact through campaigning.

16. Protesting • Knowledge - Citizens can protest about an issue they oppose. Methods of protesting include demonstrations, rallies, sit-ins, utilising the media, letter and leaflet campaigns, marches etc. • For example, in 2013 there were numerous protests in the UK about the so-called “Bedroom Tax”, protestors came out against UK Government cuts to welfare spending and protests against companies who have failed to pay corporation tax. • Some protests have been very successful. Following the 2013 Bedroom Tax protests, the Scottish Government announced that it would give councils additional money to compensate people affected by the UK Governments cuts. • Analysis – Protests can be successful as citizens who are not elected representatives can have an impact on government decisions. By protesting publicly, citizens can force the government to reconsider policy decisions or even motivate other government bodies to take further action.

17. Protesting • Knowledge – However, it can be argued that protests are highly ineffective. In 2003, 1 million people marched against the war in Iraq however, the war went ahead anyway. In 2012, 250,000 people protested against austerity (cuts) – the cuts happened anyway. • In October 2018, thousands of so called “Remainers” marched for a second referendum to be held on the Brexit deal – thus far the UK Government has yet to agree to hold such a vote. • Analysis – This evidence suggests that protests are a waste of time and show the ineffectiveness of citizen action as in a large proportion of circumstances, little or no change is generated.

18. Standing as a candidate • Knowledge – Citizens from any background have the right to stand as a candidate for a variety of positions - as long as they meet age and citizenship requirements. People wishing to stand as an MP must be over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland for example. • Citizens can stand as a member of a political party (if nominated) or as an independent candidate, although this is not common. In order to encourage only serious candidates to stand, a £500 deposit is required when submitting the nomination papers - returned if the candidate receives over five per cent of the total votes cast. • Analysis – The fact that citizens can stand as candidates and become representatives shows that citizens can indeed have an impact on decision-making. Once elected as representatives, individuals have a direct impact upon decisions which affect the daily lives of others.

19. Stand as a candidate • Knowledge – However, although anyone can stand it does seem that certain people have a much better chance of standing for election than others. • Both the Scottish and UK Parliaments have a majority of MPs/MSPs who are mostly white and male. Many are also privately educated and come from more financially stable/wealthy backgrounds. • Following the 2015 UK Parliament election, almost a third (32%) of MPs in the House of Commons went to private school, according to an analysis by an education charity. • In the Scottish Parliament, there are currently only two MSPs from an ethnic minority background despite making up roughly 5% of the population. • Analysis – This suggests that not all citizens have an equal chance at being elected to an official position, which shows that in many ways the average British citizen is unable to affect decision-making in this manner.

20. Join a pressure group • Knowledge - Citizens have the right to join pressure groups which can put pressure on the government to make changes. For example, environmentalists might join Greenpeace, children’s rights campaigners might join Child Poverty Action Group etc… • Some INSIDER pressure groups are consulted directly by the government. For example the Scottish Government has passed legislation in relation to homelessness in recent years and the Government consulted with the pressure group Shelter when drawing up the legislation. • Analysis – Pressure groups can play a pivotal role in affecting legislation, especially insider groups which shows that citizens can have an impact on decision-making if they participate in such groups.

21. Join a pressure group • Knowledge – However, some pressure groups have little success in achieving their aims. OUTSIDER groups do not have the ear of the government and so are less influential. • The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has held regular protests, campaigns and even has had a permanent encampment at the Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde for 25 years – yet the UK still maintains its nuclear weapons and the group has come under fire in the media for preventing other citizens from going to work on the base during various events. • Analysis – As such, citizens are unable to affect decision-making by joining pressure groups since outsider groups rarely achieve their aims and often receive negative media attention due to their actions.

22. Contact representatives • Knowledge – Ordinary citizens can contact representatives through letters or emails, phone-calls, surgeries, etc… • Paul Martin MSP for Glasgow Provan holds regular surgeries in local primary schools for example. • Contacting representatives can lead to them asking questions in Parliament or personally addressing issues in constituencies/regions. • Analysis – Citizens can influence decision-making then as by contacting representatives their views are taken into account and action can be taken on them.

23. Contact representatives • Knowledge – However, MSPs do not always listen to the views of constituents which means that perhaps this form of participation is less influential. • John Mason MSP for Glasgow Shettleston voted against the legalisation of gay marriage without really consulting constituents on the issue – it may well have been the case that people in Glasgow Shettleston were in favour of this legislation but the MSP chose to vote based on his personal religious/moral views. • Although if representatives consistently ignored the wishes of constituents it is likely that they would be voted out at the next election. • Analysis – It could be argued then that citizens have less influence when participating by contacting representatives since representatives do not always listen to people’s views. However, citizens ultimately do have the power to vote for someone else every 4-5 years.

24. Public Petitions • Knowledge – Scottish citizens can submit petitions and e-petitions to the Scottish Parliament which are then considered by MSPs in the public petitions committee. • For example, some of the petitions submitted to the SP in 2018 include a petition to improve access to broadband in rural Scotland and a petition to ensure that all new builds or renovated public buildings must have a defibrillator installed. • Whilst not all petitions are successful it is a good way for citizens to raise issues. • Analysis – The fact that citizens can submit petitions to the SP shows that they can influence policy – public petitions are considered by MSPs and can eventually lead to changes in the law.

25. Public Petitions • Knowledge – However, many petitions are not successful…around 50% of those submitted to the Scottish Parliament are discarded because they are invalid and many others do not receive enough signatures to be considered. • Most petitions do not lead to changes in legislation. MSPs might express opinions during debates but there is no compulsion to change laws. • Analysis – Therefore, it could be argued that citizens’ power is limited in terms of petitions since many petitions are discarded whilst most fail to lead to any real change.

26. UK Parliament petitions 2012 • Petitions signed 100,000 times or more are debated in Parliament.

27. Possible Questions… • Analyse the ways in which citizens can influence decision making (12 marks) • Evaluate the influence citizens have on the political system and decision making (12 marks) • To what extent are citizens able to have a significant influence on the political system? (20 marks)

28. TASK For the following essay question create a detailed PLAN and write one practice paragraph: Evaluate the influence citizens have on the political system and decision making (12)