Higher Modern Studies 2012-13: Discussion and Help Thread

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Wealth of the nation as a whole is increasing – more likely (68%) to own your own home than ever before

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Government policies targeted at reducing poverty further – e.g. Universal Credit introduced by current coalition to try and make sure income does not drop if people move off benefits and into low paid work

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BUT ¼ of population live in poverty and the UK is said to have one of the least equal distributions of wealth in Europe - the most wealthy 5% own 45% of all wealth

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Clear north / south geographical split

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All 10 of the most deprived areas in Scotland are in Glasgow – arguably due to loss of traditional industries that were most prevalent in the north – this will take generations to over come

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Longest life expectancy ever recorded – 78 for men and 82 for women, overall health of the population is improving

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NHS has developed many new drugs / treatments

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BUT Gap between rich and poor increasing – wealth has a significant effect of health. Factors such as poor housing – 85% of children who live in damp flats experience breathing problems

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Postcode lottery – some health authorities will pay for treatments, e.g. fertility, whilst others will not. Some drugs only available in certain areas – shown that the most affluent areas receive more money despite being on healthier on average

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Life expectancy varies dramatically between areas – man from Drumchapel (poor) is two and a half times more likely to die before 65 than a man from Bearsden

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Women make up 60% university population

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Outperforming boys at school

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More likely than every to use these grades to get into traditionally male dominated jobs such as law, accounting, engineering

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More female lawyers under 35 than male

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Suggests women will go on to take up well paid, management positions in the future

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Government policies to reduce inequalities such as the Equality Act 2010

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BUT still 'glass ceiling' – stopped by invisible barriers such as sexism etc...

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This is shown to still exist by there still being a pay gap: women in full time work earn 10% less per hour than men in the same job

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4/5 paid carers are women – the care sector's poor pay contributes greatly to pay gap

•

Wealth of the nation as a whole is increasing – more likely (68%) to own your own home than ever before

•

Government policies targeted at reducing poverty further – e.g. Universal Credit introduced by current coalition to try and make sure income does not drop if people move off benefits and into low paid work

•

BUT ¼ of population live in poverty and the UK is said to have one of the least equal distributions of wealth in Europe - the most wealthy 5% own 45% of all wealth

•

Clear north / south geographical split

•

All 10 of the most deprived areas in Scotland are in Glasgow – arguably due to loss of traditional industries that were most prevalent in the north – this will take generations to over come

•

Longest life expectancy ever recorded – 78 for men and 82 for women, overall health of the population is improving

•

NHS has developed many new drugs / treatments

•

BUT Gap between rich and poor increasing – wealth has a significant effect of health. Factors such as poor housing – 85% of children who live in damp flats experience breathing problems

•

Postcode lottery – some health authorities will pay for treatments, e.g. fertility, whilst others will not. Some drugs only available in certain areas – shown that the most affluent areas receive more money despite being on healthier on average

•

Life expectancy varies dramatically between areas – man from Drumchapel (poor) is two and a half times more likely to die before 65 than a man from Bearsden

•

Women make up 60% university population

•

Outperforming boys at school

•

More likely than every to use these grades to get into traditionally male dominated jobs such as law, accounting, engineering

•

More female lawyers under 35 than male

•

Suggests women will go on to take up well paid, management positions in the future

•

Government policies to reduce inequalities such as the Equality Act 2010

•

BUT still 'glass ceiling' – stopped by invisible barriers such as sexism etc...

•

This is shown to still exist by there still being a pay gap: women in full time work earn 10% less per hour than men in the same job

•

4/5 paid carers are women – the care sector's poor pay contributes greatly to pay gap

•

Produces a majority governments

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Clear opposition and government

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This means that policies voters elected the government on can be implemented

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BUT 2010 produced a Cons / Lib Dem coalition and so therefore not always reliable

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Almost always produces coalitions – In 2007 there were only 2 wards under single party rule

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Arguably undemocratic – no one voted for a coalition and

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Leads to 'compromise politics' policies can't be implemented because parties views could clash

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Simple majority so only 1 vote – means you can't express preference

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Wasted votes are a real problem

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This promotes tactical voting – feel shouldn't vote for smaller parties because they won't come first

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No votes wasted – can rank candidates within AND between parties,

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Also more candidates stand

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For example in 2003 (local council election run under FPTP) 61 wards has no competition whereas 2012 had no unopposed returns at all.

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Simple majority and so percentage of seats does not equal percentage of votes

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For example in 2005 Labour won a majority government (55% MPs) with just 35% of the popular vote

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Possible because support is concentrated in areas and so they win constituencies

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Clearly not representative – more voted against the government than for

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Under STV voters rank candidates and the candidates who reach a set quota are elected. Votes are reallocated until all seats are filled.

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This means that percentage of seats roughly equals percentage of votes

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For example in the 2012 Scottish Local government elections the SNP won 32% of the popular vote and so 34% of seats

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This is representative of the voters views – even if your first choice is not elected, chances are your 2^nd or 3^rd will be

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Produces a majority governments

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Clear opposition and government

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This means that policies voters elected the government on can be implemented and therefore their views are being represented AND shows voter choice

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BUT 2010 produced a Cons / Lib Dem coalition and so therefore not always reliable

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Feature of AMS is almost always producing coalitions or minority Governments – e.g. SNP from 2007 - 2011

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Arguably undemocratic – no one voted for a coalition and so this is unrepresentative of electorates opinion

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Leads to 'compromise politics' policies can't be implemented because parties views could clash, especially if ideologically opposite – not voter choice

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Easy to understand – 'x' marks the spot

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BUT simple majority so only 1 vote – means you can't express preference and therefore not much giving voters choice

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Wasted votes are a real problem

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This can promote tactical voting – feel shouldn't vote for smaller parties because they won't come first, e.g. Greens

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2 votes

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1^st ballot for constituency MSP (vote for candidate) and 2^nd ballot for regional MSP (vote for party)

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Shows voter choice because you have opportunity to choose 2 different parties

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Simple majority and so percentage of seats does not equal percentage of votes

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For example in 2005 Labour won a majority government (55% MPs) with just 35% of the popular vote

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Possible because support is concentrated in areas and so they win constituencies

•

Clearly not representative – more voted against the government than for

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Form of PR and so votes usually equal seats

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E.g. in 2007 SNP won 35% vote and 36% seat

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BUT doesn't always deliver expected and fair results

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E.g. in 2011, SNP only won 44% of the popular vote but got enough seats to form a majority government

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Possible because of the constituency ballot (run under FPTP) where they had a landslide victory over Labour, winning 53/73 seats, despite coming 2^nd in regional ballot (party list)

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Therefore AMS is not always truly representative although more so than pure FPTP

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Produces a majority governments

•

Clear opposition and government

•

This means that policies voters elected the government on can be implemented

•

BUT 2010 produced a Cons / Lib Dem coalition and so therefore not always reliable

•

Feature of PR systems is almost always producing coalitions or minority Governments – In 2007 there were only 2 wards under single party rule, using STV

•

Arguably undemocratic – no one voted for a coalition

•

Leads to 'compromise politics' policies can't be implemented because parties views could clash

•

Simple majority and so percentage of seats does not equal percentage of votes

•

For example in 2005 Labour won a majority government (55% MPs) with just 35% of the popular vote

•

Clearly not representative – more voted against the government than for

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Under a pure PR system such as Party List the percentage of votes directly translates into percentage of seats

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STV / AMS are a bit different but usually broadly proportional – e.g. in 2007 Scottish Government Elections (AMS) the SNP won 32% votes and 36% seats

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BUT not all PR type voting systems are pure PR and this shows in proportionality

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E.g. in 2011 the SNP secured a majority government under AMS for the first time, despite only winning 44% of the vote. More voted against than for.

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Therefore, PR is mostly very representative of voter's views but many systems are not pure PR and so are not always effective at delivering broad proportionality

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Simple majority so only 1 vote – means you can't express preference

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Wasted votes are a real problem

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This promotes tactical voting

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PR always either used 2 ballots (AMS) and / or ability to list preferences (STV / Party List)

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This leads to more candidates standing (increased candidate participation) as the result is not a foregone conclusion

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E.g. in 2003 (FPTP Council Elections) there were 61 wards with no competition whereas in 2012 (STV) there were no unopposed returns