Government and decision Making in Scotland

1
Government and decision Making in Scotland

• What is a democracy?
• Background and what is devolution?
• The Scottish parliament and devolved powers
• Functions of the Scottish Parliament
• The composition of Scottish Parliament
• Scottish Parliament and elections
• Role of executive
• Local councils
• Role of media
• Pressure groups

2
Britain is a Democracy

• The term democracy is derived from the ancient
  Greek words demos meaning the people and
  cratos meaning power
• Complete the drag and drop activity from the
  flipchart

3
http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4600259.stm
4
Rights

• Most people over 18 can vote
• People can choose representatives and vote for
  the ideas they want
• People have the right to protest
• People have the right to speak out on TV or in
  newspapers

5
Responsibilities

• People should use their vote
• People must accept what the majority want even if
  they disagree
• People must not break the law when they protest
• People must not tell lies or say things that are
  not true about others

6
How are decisions made in the UK

• There are 60 million people in the UK
• If we were all to meet together to make decisions
  it would take over 108 years for everyone to have
  their say if we all had a minute
• We therefore choose representatives e.g. MP, MSP,
  MEP, councillor

7
Between elections we can try to influence
decisions by putting pressure on our
representatives

• Decisions

To make
Influence
MPs MSPs MEPs Councillors
Pressure Groups Trade Unions
For
join
elect
People
8
Living in a Democracy

• Explain what you think is meant by living in a
  democracy?