democracy in scotland

• first minister 


  John Swinney
• A democracy is a system of government where citizens have the right to vote for the parliament
• We elect 129 members of the Scottish parliament
• One feature of a democracy is a trade union. this is when is a group of employees who work together to improve their work conditions. For example, UNISON is the uk’s largest trade union with 1.3 million members.
• Another feature of a democracy is petitions. This is a formal written request which is usually signed by many people in order to get something improved or introduced by authority. For example, a popular petition is one requesting the revocation of Article 50 and for the UK to remain in the EU, which had 6.1 million signatures as of 2019
• Who is our local MSP


  Humza Yousaf
• Head of state?

  The king
• A referendum 


  A vote that allows citizens to give their opinion on an important issue or question. E.g - Yes or no to being an independent Scotland, brexit etc
• Devolution

  when central government gives away some powers to a regional government e.g the Scotland act 1998.
• devolved powers 


  Powers that the uk government has passed on to the Scottish parliament.
• Reserved powers


  Powers that the UK government has kept
• One devolved power given to the Scottish parliament is education. this means that our government has control over schools universities and colleges and makes decisions regarding spending and qualifications. For example, scotland does not charge university or college students tuition fees, which is not the case for England or Wales.
• Another devolved power given to the Scottish parliament is health. This means that Scotlands NHS structure and spending decisions is different from England and Wales, and our Scottish Prime Minister has overall responsibility for it. The Scottish government diverged from Westminster and abolished prescription charges.
• There have been seven first minsters
• One power that the first minster has is to appoint and reshuffle the cabinet. This means that after the FM is elected, they will appoint cabinet secretaries from their own party to sit in their cabinet, who they can hire, fire and reshuffle. For example, John Swinney appointed Kate Forbes as Deputy First Minister.
• Another power of the First Minster is to make foreign visits. This means that the first minister represents Scotland at home and abroad and often travels to other countries to build foreign relations and consult on a limited number of issues. For example, in 2023 Humza Yousaf met with the Turkish President about the Isreal/Palestine conflict. The prime minister and foreign secretary said he should have consulted with them first.
• Right to protest 


  the right to assemble peaceably and express your objections to something
• Freedom of thought, belief and religion 


  To respect the freedom of people who have different thought, belief and religion.
• Freedom of expression

  To express yourself within the law, and allow others to express themselves
• Protection from discrimination 


  Not to discriminate against others
• Participate in free elections (voting)


  to accept the results of elections even when you disagree with the outcome.
• One political right that individuals have in a democracy is the right to protest. This means that individuals are allowed to assemble peaceably and express objections to something. For example, In August 2024, hundreds of protesters assembled for refuge rights outside of the Scottish Parliament.
• Another political right that individuals have in a democracy is to participate in free elections. This means that they have the right to vote and accept the results of an election even if they disagree with the outcome. For example, the 2021 election in the Scottish Parliament was won by Humza Yousaf
• Trade Unions are organisations that represent workers to improve their wage and working conditions.
• 4 ways Trade Unions can help workers


  • representation

  • health and safety

  • equal opportunities

  • wages
• A strike is when work is stopped due to the mass refusal of employees, with the goal of improving wages and working conditions. in November 2022 the two major teaching unions - the EIS and NASUWT - balloted their members to authorise strike action due to a wage dispute. Both unions returned yes votes of over 90%.
• Trade unions can make speeches and hold demonstrations to try to influence or persuade others. Through holding these TUs can show how much support they have which can influence the government. For example, in 2024, the EIS union started a protest outside the Glasgow City Council building against the proposed teacher cuts to teacher numbers in Glasgow over the coming years.
• Trade unions can give money to political parties if they think that they will be accommodating to their workers and members. this means if they will settle disputes quickly and with fair wage increases. for example, the labour party has a long standing relationship with TUs and grow out of them. In 2023, they recoded £6 million from affiliated unions
• one way that political parties can influence the media/campaign is through party political broadcasts (PPB). This is when parties get a short video to communicate their views and the improvements to Scotland that they want to make, usually showing pictures or clips of the country.
• Another type of media that political parties use during elections is social media. Parties use Twitter and Facebook to advertise their policies to voters. This is effective as it can reach a huge number of voters. For example, all MSPS in the Scottish Parliament have a Twitter/X account including the first minister, John Swinney.
• One role that a committee has in the Scottish parliament is to scrutinise bills. This is when committees look closely and amend laws. This is in the first two stages of passing a law, which can make big changes in parliament. For example, John Finnie, a green MSP, outlawed the smacking of children. Amendments were made in committee to this.
• A second role that a committee has in the Scottish Parliament is to question Scottish Ministers. This can help hold Scottish MSPS accountable and can help find answers when an issue is raised within a committee. For example, Nicola Sturgeon was questioned in regards to the claim of Alex Salmond harassing female colleagues in 2021
• the role of an MSP in constituency. 


  Holding a surgery. This is an open meeting held by an MSP where people can go and explain any issues. For example, surgeries are held in public buildings, community centres, libraries or even their office. Humza Yousaf has a surgery every friday on 100 Priesthill road.
• the role of an MSP in constituency: work with media. If any MSP is trying to raise support or awareness of an issue they might write to a local authority paper. For example, many MSPS have a regular column in the local paper. E.G Humza Yousaf, our MSP, used to have a column in the Glasgow Times.
• Role of MSPs inside parliament 


  one way that MSPS represent their constituents in Parliament is by debating and voting. This means that MSPS get to debate new proposals and important issues before voting to see if a majority support it. For example, the Hate crime bill (2021) was debated greatly in the Scottish Parliament and was only properly put into force in April 2024.
• Role of MSPS inside parliament 


  A second way in which MSPS represent their constituents in parliament is by proposing Private Member Bills. This means that they can propose up to 2 bills in each session of parliament. For example, former MSP John Finnie proposed the bill outlawing the smacking of children which came into law in 2021.
• Women 50:50, a group campaigning for more gender parity in parliament, welcomed the changes in representation but said any increase is ”largely due to the SNP, labour and greens taking specific action to ensure workers representation”
• The party breakdown reveals 31% of the Scottish greens, 53% of SNP MSPS, 45% of labour, 25% of libdem and 26% of conservatives are women.
• Representation of ethnic minorities has improved as young people are becoming more involved in politics.
• Role models

  An MSP, Humza Yousaf, and the leader of the Labour Party, Anas Sanwar, are from minority backgrounds.