Shannon W Unit 1: Government, policies and public services P3, M2
Responsibilities of elected bodies- Elected bodies are Publicity and electioneering activities- In order to gain 50% of the votes because they only need the most votes
individuals who have been elected by people of the UK publicity for your political party, you need to advertise it. out of the other parties.
and have the responsibility to make decisions about the This can be done via broadcasts on the radio and
running of the country. television, posters, leafleting or even walking around Alternative voting system- In the
neighbourhoods, knocking on people’s doors. alternative voting system is where
Who is entitled to stand for election? – If you are either people have multiple votes because
a British citizen, a commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Voting in person and by post- There are two main ways they vote for their favourites in
Irish republic or another member state of the European which you can vote by during an election. The first one is order. This type of voting is a much
union, then you are entitled to stand at an election. in person, which involves going to the polling station longer process compared to the first
However, it is a legal requirement that you must be at with your polling card. You then collect your ballot paper past the post method. If no candidate receives more
least 18 years of age in order to cast your vote. and go to the ballot booth; here you will mark your than half of the first choice votes, all of the other
ballot paper and then you have cast your vote. The other candidates, except the two with the most first choice
Candidate selection process- The first step an individual method is by post, which most people find much more votes, are out.
has to take in order to become a candidate is to join a simplified. There is also another alternative which is to
political party. They must then have an interview with vote by a proxy. This means getting someone to vote on Second choice votes for the one of the two remaining
the party members to see if they are a suitable your behalf. In order to vote this way, you need to apply candidates are then added to the final results until
candidate for the position. After this, the next step for a single election on a specific date. People should someone has over 50% of the vote.
involves the party members to vote for their favourite only do this is the other person is trustworthy enough to
candidate within that party. Finally, the winning Comparing First past the post and alternative voting.
vote for the party you chose.
candidate is given support by the party in order to try First past the post and alternative voting are both voting
and be elected by the community. Election day activity’s- Here’s the steps that everyone systems used in the UK during elections. Out of the two,
has to go through when casting their vote. the alternative voting system has a much longer process
The role of political parties in elections- Without
political parties, there wouldn’t be any point in having an 1. Go to the polling station with your polling card. when it comes down to counting the overall votes. First
election because there wouldn’t be anything to vote for. 2. Collect your ballot paper. past the post is most commonly used in local elections
Each political party takes a stand on issues and criticises 3. Go into a ballot booth. and electing MP’s for the House of Commons. Although
the other party’s views; in simple 4. Mark your ballot paper. alterative voting longer and more tedious process
terms, they ‘fight’ each other for the 5. Cast your vote. compared to first past the post, its results are a lot more
public vote. Having political parties is 6. Polling closes. accurate and is seen as a fairer way to vote. Another
also the reason why government 7. Votes are then counted. difference between the two voting systems is that for
works and provides political stability. first past the post, the party doesn’t need more than
It also enables citizens of the UK to First past the post voting- First past 50% of the votes to win, they just need the most votes
elect a leader via their chosen party. the post is an electoral system, which can be related to whereas, alternative voting keeps on going until
the term used in horse racing when someone wins by someone has over 50%, which makes it seem a much
Period of election- A new government is elected every 5 the nose, then they win everything. A positive point for fairer process.
years where citizens of the UK vote for their favourite first past the post is that a party can win just by a few
political party. For example; conservatives, labour etc. votes. However, a negative for first past the post is that
it can seem unfair as a party that doesn’t need to get
References
https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/mps/ (11/03/19)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12892836 (11/03/19)
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/voting-systems/
(11/03/19)
Responsibilities of elected bodies- Elected bodies are Publicity and electioneering activities- In order to gain 50% of the votes because they only need the most votes
individuals who have been elected by people of the UK publicity for your political party, you need to advertise it. out of the other parties.
and have the responsibility to make decisions about the This can be done via broadcasts on the radio and
running of the country. television, posters, leafleting or even walking around Alternative voting system- In the
neighbourhoods, knocking on people’s doors. alternative voting system is where
Who is entitled to stand for election? – If you are either people have multiple votes because
a British citizen, a commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Voting in person and by post- There are two main ways they vote for their favourites in
Irish republic or another member state of the European which you can vote by during an election. The first one is order. This type of voting is a much
union, then you are entitled to stand at an election. in person, which involves going to the polling station longer process compared to the first
However, it is a legal requirement that you must be at with your polling card. You then collect your ballot paper past the post method. If no candidate receives more
least 18 years of age in order to cast your vote. and go to the ballot booth; here you will mark your than half of the first choice votes, all of the other
ballot paper and then you have cast your vote. The other candidates, except the two with the most first choice
Candidate selection process- The first step an individual method is by post, which most people find much more votes, are out.
has to take in order to become a candidate is to join a simplified. There is also another alternative which is to
political party. They must then have an interview with vote by a proxy. This means getting someone to vote on Second choice votes for the one of the two remaining
the party members to see if they are a suitable your behalf. In order to vote this way, you need to apply candidates are then added to the final results until
candidate for the position. After this, the next step for a single election on a specific date. People should someone has over 50% of the vote.
involves the party members to vote for their favourite only do this is the other person is trustworthy enough to
candidate within that party. Finally, the winning Comparing First past the post and alternative voting.
vote for the party you chose.
candidate is given support by the party in order to try First past the post and alternative voting are both voting
and be elected by the community. Election day activity’s- Here’s the steps that everyone systems used in the UK during elections. Out of the two,
has to go through when casting their vote. the alternative voting system has a much longer process
The role of political parties in elections- Without
political parties, there wouldn’t be any point in having an 1. Go to the polling station with your polling card. when it comes down to counting the overall votes. First
election because there wouldn’t be anything to vote for. 2. Collect your ballot paper. past the post is most commonly used in local elections
Each political party takes a stand on issues and criticises 3. Go into a ballot booth. and electing MP’s for the House of Commons. Although
the other party’s views; in simple 4. Mark your ballot paper. alterative voting longer and more tedious process
terms, they ‘fight’ each other for the 5. Cast your vote. compared to first past the post, its results are a lot more
public vote. Having political parties is 6. Polling closes. accurate and is seen as a fairer way to vote. Another
also the reason why government 7. Votes are then counted. difference between the two voting systems is that for
works and provides political stability. first past the post, the party doesn’t need more than
It also enables citizens of the UK to First past the post voting- First past 50% of the votes to win, they just need the most votes
elect a leader via their chosen party. the post is an electoral system, which can be related to whereas, alternative voting keeps on going until
the term used in horse racing when someone wins by someone has over 50%, which makes it seem a much
Period of election- A new government is elected every 5 the nose, then they win everything. A positive point for fairer process.
years where citizens of the UK vote for their favourite first past the post is that a party can win just by a few
political party. For example; conservatives, labour etc. votes. However, a negative for first past the post is that
it can seem unfair as a party that doesn’t need to get
References
https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/mps/ (11/03/19)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12892836 (11/03/19)
https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/voting-systems/
(11/03/19)
