Citizenship paper 1

• Identity


  Our sense of who we are and how we see ourselves
• Factors that make up identity

  • Religion
  • Culture
  • Ethnic or national origin
  • Accent and dialect
  • Sexuality, gender and lifestyle choices
  • Socio-economic status
  • Cuisine and dietary choice
  • Subculture, media and musical preferences
  • Political views
  • Profession
• British Isles


  Geographical description of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, and several smaller islands
• Great Britain


  The single large land mass of England, Wales, and Scotland
• United Kingdom


  Our nation state composed of the four constituent nations of Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales
• Constituent nations of the UK

  • England
  • Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
• Immigration


  The act of moving to and settling in another country
• Emigration


  The act of leaving a country with the intention of settling elsewhere
• Factors causing migration


  • Standards of living
  • Peace and political stability
  • Human rights and freedoms
  • Economic factors
• Waves of migration into the UK

  • 1950s and 60s - West Indies and Caribbean (Windrush Generation)
  • 1970s and 80s - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
  • 1990s and 2000s - Poland and Eastern Europe
• Diversity in the UK population

  • Religions - Christianity, Islam, Judaism, non-religious
  • Sexualities - heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual
  • Gender identities - transgender, gender-fluid
• The UK population is increasingly urban and decreasingly rural
• The UK population is slowly increasingly aging, with the average age increasing slowly
• The general trend of population change in the UK is to increase diversity
• Key principles and values underpinning life in the UK

  • Democracy
  • Tolerance of others
  • Diversity of the population
  • Rule of law
  • Secularism
  • Constitutional monarchy
• Human rights in the UK

  • Right to life
  • Right to freedom of religion
  • Right to freedom of association
  • Right to freedom from torture
• Political rights in the UK

  • Right to vote
  • Right for vote to be secret
  • Right to free speech
  • Right to freedom of conscience
• Moral rights in the UK

  • Right to an education
  • Right to freedom of thought and expression
  • Right to be credited for work which is yours
• Legal rights in the UK

  • Right to a fair trial
  • Equality before the law
  • Innocent until proven guilty
  • Right to representation
• The UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948 set out basic and universal fundamental human rights
• The European Convention on Human Rights in 1953 established basic human rights in Europe and set up the European Court of Human Rights
• The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child in 1989 set out basic and universal fundamental human rights specific to children
• Local government


  Elected in local elections, deals with smaller issues in a specific local area
• Devolved governments


  Rule over a constituent nation of the United Kingdom, elected by individuals in those nations, have powers over most matters in that area
• Requirements to stand for election in the UK

  • Over 18 years of age
  • British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen
  • Nominated by a party or independent candidate
  • Not in a disqualifying profession
  • Not otherwise disqualified
• Candidate selection


  1. Only one candidate per party can stand in each constituency

  2. Larger parties carry out interviews to select a candidate

  3. Existing MPs get to stand for their party by default

  4. Candidate receiving most votes becomes MP

  5. Candidates receiving under 5% of vote lose deposit
• Requirements to vote in elections in the UK

  • 18 or over
  • British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen
  • Registered to vote
  • Resident at UK address or living abroad with British citizenship
  • Not legally excluded from voting
• Arguments for reducing voting age to 16 include young people being affected by elections, paying some taxes, and encouraging political engagement
• Arguments against reducing voting age to 16 include many things not being allowed at 16, less life experience and maturity
• Voter turnout


  The number of people who do vote in a constituency, compared to all of those who can
• Factors affecting voter turnout

  • Weather
  • Date of election
  • Big issues on the day
  • Voter apathy and disengagement
  • Average age of electorate
  • Closeness of election
• Ways taxes are raised

  • National Insurance
  • Income Tax
  • VAT
  • Corporation Tax
  • Fines and penalties
  • Sales
• How taxes are spent

  • Social security and welfare
  • Health
  • Education
  • Defense
  • Interest payments
  • Public order and safety
  • Environment and transport
• Traditional right-wing view on taxation and spending

  Taxes and spending should both be low, people should keep more of their wages but public services should be more limited
• Traditional left-wing view on taxation and spending

  Taxes and spending should both be higher, people should contribute more but public services should be better funded
• First past the post electoral system

  UK divided into 650 constituencies, each electing a single MP, the candidate with the most votes wins
• Advantages of first past the post

  • Tends to result in strong and stable governments
  • Simple and easy to understand
  • Each MP linked to constituents
• Disadvantages of first past the post

  • Smaller parties greatly disadvantaged
  • Elections can be won by less than 50% of vote
  • Millions of votes may be irrelevant
  • Elections decided by small number of swing constituencies
• Alternative electoral systems


  • Proportional representation
  • Alternative vote
  • List system
• Parts of government


  • Executive - Prime Minister and Cabinet
  • Legislature - Parliament
  • Judiciary - Courts