chapter 4 - democracy, elections and voting in the uk

• classical democracy is a form of government where the people are sovereign and have the right to vote on laws and other matters
• MPs are succesful candidates who represent their constituency in parliament
• candidate: a person who applies for a job or is nominated for election
• a political party is a group of people who share a common set of political views and work together to influence the government
• a constituency is an area of a country with around 60,000 voters.
• referendum - a vote in which all electors are able to decide a single issue
• direct democracy is a system of decision-making in which all electors have the right to vote on the most important issues
• representative democracies now use elections to choose those men and women who will represent all citizens
• pluralism is a system of decision-making in which all groups are included
• franchise - the right to vote for representatives
• electoral register - a list of all those people who are entitled to vote and have applied to do so
• civil liberties - rights such as freedom of speech that are granted to all citizens by law
• in 1832 parliament gives voting rights to the richest 15% of men
• in 1871 workers gain the right to set up trade unions
• in 1884 the vote is extended to the wealthiest 60% of men over 21
• in 1906 the labour party was founded
• in 1918 women over 30 can vote and so can all men over 21
• in 1928 women over 21 are allowed to vote
• in 1969 voting age is made 18 instead of 21
• in 2015 the voting age is 16 in elections to the scottish parliament
• election manifesto - a document written by members of a political party which states what the party aims to do if it gains power
• sustainable development - meeting todays human needs while making sure future generations will also be able to meet their needs
• minority government - when the party with the most seats in the house of commons does not have a majority
• nationalised - nationalised businesses are owned and run by the state on behalf of the people
• coalition government - a government made up of two or more parties that work together to form a government
• unionist - a person who supports the union of Ireland, scotland and wales with the United Kingdom
• nationalist - a person who is strongly attached to their own country and is willing to fight for it
• power sharing agreement - this agreement helped putan end to years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland