Democracy In Scotland

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Advantages of Single Transferable Vote

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One advantage of STV is that there are less wasted votes. This is because seats are awarded proportionally instead of a winner takes all senario as is the case with FPTP. For example in Westminster elections which use FPTP thousands of ballot papers are wasted as a party needs a majority in an area to win meaning there is less point in voting for smaller parties such as the greens which leds to larger parties dominating. STV ensures seats are distributed more fairly and less votes count for nothing.

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Advantages of STV

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Another adavantage of STV is that it gives smaller parties a greater chance of representation. Since under STV smaller parties and independent candidates have an increased chance of gaining councillors this means more vocies are heard representing more views. For example the green party have 5 councilors in Glasgow city council and 12 across Scotland. Under the FPTP system the greens had little chance of gaining representation.

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Disadvantages of STV

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One disadvantage of STV is that it is confusing. Voters have to rank candidates in order of preference rather than simply putting an "x" next to the candidate of their choice as is the case with FPTP. This has led to ballots being incorrectly filled out. For example in the Scottish local government elections in 2007 and 2012. Also some feel it leds to donkey voting, when voters just rank the candidates as the appear on the ballot paper.

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Disadvantages of STV

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Another disadvantage of STV is that it increases the chance of exremeist parties such as BNP to gain representation in local authorites. For example in Scottish local government elections in 2012 many extremist parties put forward candidates e.g. in Glasgow; the fat right britiannia party and a splinter group from the BNP put forward 4 candidates. Although parties such as this have not won any seats at council level it is much more likely to happen under STV than FPTP.

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Ways in which political parties campaign to get their candidates elected as councillors

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Canvassing - parties will employ a num ber of volunteers who will work alongside the candidates as they go door to door or even telephone households. They canvass voters by discussing the election with them and in doing so try to gain their vote

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Ways in which political parties campaign to get their candidates elected as councillors

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Producing promotional materials. There may be in the form of leaflets delivered through floors or even billboard posters in town centres such as falkirk to promote their candidates. For example in many council wards during elections lamposts are covered in placards with candidates named on them and often cars drive around with loud speakers through which a message is played to support a candidate.

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Services local councillor are responsible for

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Education - the council is responsible for the provision of nursery, primary and secondary schools within the region. They are responsible for thae staffing and resourcing of these schools and providing apprpriate levels of education. For example renfrewshire council directed the implementation of CfE within renfrewshire schools.

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Services local councils are responsible for

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Enviromental protection- this means that local councils are responsible for enviromental and public health, refuse collection and disposal and recycling. For example Glasgow whelie bin collections are done by Glasgow city council.

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Why local councillors are responsible for important services

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Local councillors are aware of local issues and needs - they are based in the area they are representing and therefore know what the problems in the area are because they can see them every day. For example if a school of a school was in a poor state of repair the council would be aware of this and could try to rectify the problem. Local councils are also more likely to spot problems in the education system and can try to improve it to best suit the needs of people in the area.

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Why local councillors are responsible for important issues

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There are different priorities between and among different areas - in turn it is impossible for central government to make decisions that best meet the needs of people in all areas. For example or is important that local councils are responsible for social working as children in different areas have different needs e.g. Glasgow is very deprived in certain areas and in turn Glasgow city council must provide an adequate social work depatnent to meet the needs of children in the area.

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Ways in which decisions made about local services by local councils can affect the lives of people in Scotland

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Decisions about cleansing can affect the lives of people in Scotland. If the council decide to cut back on the frequency of refuse collection it may result in the area not being so clean. On the other hand many councils are now directing attention towards recycling or greener ways of reusing waste which can impact the environment. For example many residents now have different coloured bins for household, garden and good waste in an effort to go green.

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Ways in which decisions made about local services by councils can affect the lives of people of Scotland

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Decisions about school closures or mergers can affect the lives of people in Scotland. With falling numbers, the council may decide to close a school of merge it with another e.g. this was the case with Glasgow city council when they decided to merge upper Westfield school with balgowie school. However such decisions are often unpopular with local parents who do not want to see the closure of a local resource and to see their children having to travel much further to another school. Often, the council faces angry protests from parents.

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Role of a councillor/ how a local councillor represents local people

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Hold a surgery - here they can meet with local people and listen to their problems and issues. They may be able to help by contacting the council department. For example if someone complains that their rubbish is not being uplifted and so the house is smelling. The councillor can then contact the appropriate official in the cleansing department and remedy the problem.

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Role of a councillor/ ways a local councillor represents local people

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The councillor can act as the voice of the local community and speak up on their behalf at a meeting of the full council or as a commute member. For example as a member of the listening committee they may be contacted with complaints of noises and disturbances from local clubs or pins. They can then bring this to the attention of the comittee if more applications for late night licences are made.

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Role of local councillors / how a local councillor represents local people

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Attending local events and festivals to show their support for the community and meet the people. They also sometimes open up new facilities to attract media attention. For example Glasgow councillor Gordon Matheson opened up the new Emirates arena which featured in the tv news and press bringing publicity to the arena.

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Ways local councils raise funds

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A grant called aggregate external finance. This is money provided by the Scottish government to all 32 regional authorities. However some of this money is ringfenced. For example all local councils have to spend some money on looking after roads, signage, and bad weather services such as gritters as this is a mandatory service.

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Ways local councils raise funds

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Council tax - this is a tax on property and based on the size and location of people houses they pay varied amounts to the council. This is called banding. For examole a house in top band H which pay more (£3000 in south Lanarkshire) than houses in lower band A ( £843 in south Lanarkshire)

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