British National Party
Green Party In groups, research the Political party you have selected: Local Election Follow a 4 year cycle. Not all councils vote at the same time. Councillors are elected ‘by thirds’ for a period of 4 years (One councillor being elected per year for 3 years, and no Local election in 4th year). Who can stand for election? 21 years of age or over. British, Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland Citizen. Must be nominated by at least 10 registered electors of that constituency. If representing a party, consent must be gained. If you are not representing a party, you are classed as ‘Independent’. £500 deposit when registering, refundable if you receive 5% or more of the vote. A prisoner serving 12 months or more in custody can not stand for election.
Just for Local:
An individual can stand if they are a member of a European Union Nation Candidate Selection Process If standing as an Independent representative, there is no selection procedures. Existing MPs are usually approved to stand when being re-elected. Political parties generally have more representatives than seats. Political parties vigorously select potential candidates to improve their chances of winning. The selection process is similar to selection for the Uniformed Public Services. Sift of C.V, personal statement, application form and aptitude tests. Local interviews sometimes take place. Shortlists consisting of only women have been known to take place. What do you think about this? Period of an election Mayors typically keep their post for 1 year. Councillors up to 4 years. MP’s up to 5 years.
After these periods, they must either stand down or be re-elected. Types of voting Polling office, usually a church hall, school or a community centre. ‘First past the post’- an individual steps in to a booth and casts their vote anonymously by making an ‘X’ next to the candidate they wish to vote for. Postal voting. Voting by Proxy. Internet voting. In order to be a
DEMOCRATIC society, the representatives who serve on our behalf both Locally and Nationally must be elected by the people of the Nation. General Election Maximum term for a parliament is 5 years, 3 weeks. Tends to occur every 3.5- 5 years. The Prime Minister decides when the election will be. Local and General 1-5 years depending on the position held: The party in power at the time decides when the election is to be held. (Within a 5 year period).
Party in power has the chance to change things just prior to the election- generally things like lowering taxes. Why would they do that?
Superior funding for larger parties such as Labour and Conservative.
Independents and smaller parties are at a disadvantage. Influence of Political parties Political campaigning TASK
Create a Political Poster for your party
(Chosen at the start of the session) Other ways of campaigning: Tv Radio Newspapers Posters
Personal interviews
Public meetings
Leaflet distribution First Past the Post (Westminster and Local Elections) Additional Member System (Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Greater London Assembly) Supplementary Vote (Mayor of London) Single Transferable Vote (Northern Irish Assembly) List System (European Parliament) Different election processes Basis of British electoral system Very clear cut and well defined Candidate with highest number of votes wins FPTP is used in both general and local elections First past the post Advantages of First past the post It allows decisive political change. By providing an outright winner, the system ensures that a party has a mandate to carry out its programme. Easy for the voter to understand. Strong links between MP and constituents, due to single member constituencies. Strong single party governments. The winning Party may not have won the overall majority of votes cast. The chance of anomalous results is increased. Encourages the tactical voting technique, known as ‘compromising’.
Disadvantages of First past the Post Voters must rank candidates on the ballot paper in order of preference If a candidate receives 50% or more of the first preferences, they are elected If not then the candidate with the lowest number of first choices is eliminated and their second choices distributed to other This continues until one candidate has a clear majority The Alternative vote Ensures the winner has a majority Strong bond between candidates and constituents is maintained Removes issue of wasted votes Extreme left or right wing parties would be unlikely to get enough support to be elected Does not give parties proportion of seats there votes have earned Time consuming and more complex than FPTP. This is a system which tries to match the proportion of votes cast with the proportion of seats a party receives For example, under PR, if you received 35% of the vote you should get 35% of the seats in parliament Represents wishes of voters as a whole Minority parties end up with fairer share of seats Increases opportunities for independents
Can be difficult if no party has clear majority
Can lead to unstable coalition governments Proportional representation TASK 2 As a member of the coalition government you have been tasked by the Cabinet to look at the various electoral processes available after Liberal Democrat election promises to reform the voting system in the UK. The leaflet will then be distributed to the general public. This is a highly controversial subject as Conservatives promised not to reform the voting system whilst Liberal Democrats vowed to make the system fairer. As such your leaflet needs to be as descriptive and in depth as possible so that the public can form their own opinion on which voting system they prefer.
In the form of a leaflet you should:
Explain electoral processes used in UK elections (P3) and
Compare the electoral processes used at different levels of government in the UK (M2).
GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSMENT TASK 2
When explaining the electoral process for P3, learners only need to include one election process and ensure that they clearly identify to which level of government it relates. The explanation should be detailed in its content and will be expected to identify the complete process from the initial application to stand for election to the declaration of the vote, including the voting system that is used.
Evidence for M2 must include a comparison of the election process for the elected representatives for at least two levels of government.
