Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

Video clip (2-4 mins) Click to watch a clip. Do you agree with these young people? Has UK democracy got anything to do with young people? Image Sources 1- References http://viewpure.com/xOBiq25gcH0?start=0&end=0 ©VotesForSchools2016

Does democracy make a difference to my life? Image Sources 1- http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/151022105342-gordon-brown-sleep-super-169.jpg References 1- ©VotesForSchools2016

Learning objectives for today To prepare for weekly debates To understand how to take your vote and make a difference Keywords Debate – an organised discussion of a subject with many people taking part (NOT an argument between two people where there is always a winner) Democracy – a type of government where leaders are elected by citizens Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

Issues to consider What is a democracy? Making democracy work How does democracy work in the UK? Politics has got nothing to do with me… The difficulties with democracy Make Your Mark! VotesforSchools and Make Your Mark are working together to give you a voice on the issues you care about. Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

Not a Democracy (Authoritarian) Not a Democracy (Monarchy) What is a democracy? Pair Activity (4-6 mins) Can you decide between you which of these countries has a democratic government? China China has had one party in government since the 1950s. It is led by Xi Jinping who took over in 2012. The Communist party picks who to lead the country. Citizens do not get to vote. The media is mainly owned by the government & told what to say. Democracy! (ish) Hungary Hungary has an elected government. It has a constitution & the media is independent. However, the PM has changed laws to make sure he stays in power. People who criticise the PM are criticised & no longer safe. Not a Democracy (Authoritarian) Saudi Arabia Since the 1920s all rulers of Saudi Arabia have come from the Saud family. The ruler of the country is the oldest male in the family. But a group of Princes can pick a replacement if this is required for special reasons. UK The UK has an elected government, regular elections, free press & rights for the people. The monarchy has no formal powers. It has a voting system that favours two big parties. Not a Democracy (Monarchy) Image Sources 1- http://www.operationworld.org/files/ow/maps/lgmap/saud-MMAP-md.png 2- https://vid.alarabiya.net/images/2016/01/27/f27eebd7-05a1-44ae-9599-6f226e6bb402/f27eebd7-05a1-44ae-9599-6f226e6bb402_16x9_788x442.jpg 3- http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1464076/hungarian-prime-minister-viktor-orban.jpg 4- http://www.operationworld.org/files/ow/maps/lgmap/hung-MMAP-md.png 5- http://projectbritain.com/britain/uk.gif 6- http://www.operationworld.org/files/ow/maps/lgmap/chna-MMAP-md.png References 1- http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/stories/10-countries-where-royalty-still-rules Democracy! ©VotesForSchools2016

A Democracy is a system of government where all citizens (or those eligible) can vote for the leaders they want. In the West we tend to have liberal democracies. This means: The media can criticise the government We have regular elections We have property rights so you can buy a house We have human rights (e.g. you can’t be arrested for no reason) What is a democracy? The UK is a liberal democracy. Countries like Hungary are democracies but not liberal (in Hungary newspapers are partly controlled by the government.) A democracy is only a good type of system if: People learn about politics & know what they are voting on. People turn up to vote. Image Sources 1- http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yY-bGCQJSWc/THT3v7EGM_I/AAAAAAAABy8/7YDnaoyu1vU/s1600/guardianIFS.jpg 2- http://www.un.org/sites/www.un.org/files/2015/10/07/universal-declaration-human-rights.jpg References 1- https://www.mysociety.org/wehelpyou/who-is-your-mp/?gclid=CP32h6GDnNMCFYWRGwodjnwLjA ©VotesForSchools2016

Issues to consider What is a democracy? Making democracy work How does democracy work in the UK? Politics has got nothing to do with me… The difficulties with democracy Make Your Mark! Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

Making democracy work Imagine all the students in your school have been washed up on an unknown island. It is unlikely you will ever be rescued. So you will have to form some sort of society to make sure you can survive and be happy. Group Activity (5-8 mins) Get into groups of 4-6. Come up with a system of government and elections that you think will work for your school on the Island for years to come. Write down: How you will pick a leader/leaders How often you will have elections How you will make sure everyone is happy with this You are going to have to make shelters, search for food, learn how to make fires, check that there is nothing dangerous on the island and construct a way to escape if you want to. Teams will have to be assigned to all these tasks. Image Sources 1- References 1- https://www.mysociety.org/wehelpyou/who-is-your-mp/?gclid=CP32h6GDnNMCFYWRGwodjnwLjA ©VotesForSchools2016

Group Activity (6-8 mins) Making democracy work Group Activity (6-8 mins) You have run into some serious issues. As a group decide whether your democracy will be able to cope with these different incidents. 1) Two students have stolen all the emergency food. Half the students want them to be kicked off the island, the other half want them to be forgiven. 3) The team that you have asked to make the shelters for everyone refuses. They say it is the worst job. No one else wants to do it so you have to come up with another way to solve the problem. Image Sources 1- References 1- https://www.mysociety.org/wehelpyou/who-is-your-mp/?gclid=CP32h6GDnNMCFYWRGwodjnwLjA 2) A group of 30 students have picked a new leader (let’s call her Sarah). They demand that Sarah rule the island. If you do not give in, they say they will start a fight with all the other students. ©VotesForSchools2016

Issues to consider What is a democracy? Making democracy work How does democracy work in the UK? Politics has got nothing to do with me… The difficulties with democracy Make Your Mark! Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

What else can we do to change things? How does democracy work in the UK? Individual Activity (5-8 mins) Watch the video and make notes (you might have to watch it twice). Then fill in the answers in the table below 5:09-7:59 When and how do we vote? Who do we vote for? What else can we do to change things? When you are 18 you can vote in elections. To do this you first need to register to vote online. General elections happen every 5 years-ish (the next one is in 2020*), council elections happen every 4 years. To vote you go to a polling station (it will be a place like a school or post office near you) and you vote on a piece of paper In countries like the USA & France, you vote for a President. Here, we don’t vote directly for the Prime Minister (they are picked by their party). In a General Election you vote for your local MP. People normally vote for the MP from the party they support (labour, conservatives etc.) In council elections, you vote for your local councillor Voting is not the only way to make an impact. You can visit your local MP to talk to them about what you care about. They have to respond to you as it is their job to make your voice heard. You can also group together as a school and write to MPs or Ministers. You can start petitions. You could start/join a student council Image Sources 1- iStock Images References 1- http://viewpure.com/RAMbIz3Y2JA?start=309&end=479 ©VotesForSchools2016

The Queen has a lot of power and can decide what laws are made How does democracy work in the UK? Pair Activity (5-7 mins) Look at these different statements. Together try to work out which are true & which are false. You can watch the next bit of the video for hints Parliament (everyone involved in running the country) has just one main part: the House of Commons The government is made by the party that won the most seats at the general election There are 3 parts to Parliament: The House of Commons, The House of Lords, and the Monarch (Queen) The Government can basically do what they want when they are elected and no one can stop them There are 650 Members of Parliament and one of them comes from where you live The opposition, select committees and you can make sure the Government has to make sure the public are happy with what it does 1:08-3:49 Image Sources 1- iStock Images 2- https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/167549/Kliponious-green-tick.png 3- http://www.clker.com/cliparts/u/B/V/9/F/u/red-wrong-cross-hi.png References 1- The Queen has a lot of power and can decide what laws are made The Queen doesn’t have really any power over laws anymore, she just follows tradition http://viewpure.com/RAMbIz3Y2JA?start=68&end=229 ©VotesForSchools2016

Group activity (3-5 mins) How does democracy work in the UK? Politics in the UK is not perfect, there are always things we could do to improve the way we make laws and debate the issues that matter. You can click the image to see an example of debating getting out of hand In your VotesforSchools sessions, we will often think and talk about how we can make things better in the UK; how we can discuss issues together and make a difference to help the people around us 0:00-0:51 Group activity (3-5 mins) How can you make sure debates don’t get out of hand like they did in the clip? Can you come up with a set of rules for your VotesforSchools debates? Image Sources 1- https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3099/2701153820_0f29d46bf4_b.jpg References 1- https://www.mysociety.org/wehelpyou/who-is-your-mp/?gclid=CP32h6GDnNMCFYWRGwodjnwLjA This is the House of Commons, where MPs (like the Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn) debate laws and issues each day http://viewpure.com/8Qu7s-Wox0M?start=0&end=0 ©VotesForSchools2016

Issues to consider What is a democracy? Making democracy work How does democracy work in the UK? Politics has got nothing to do with me… The difficulties with democracy Make Your Mark! Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

Politics has got nothing to do with me… A lot of people think politics is boring and sometimes it is (click the image to see an MP finding things a little dull). However, it can be exciting and will always affect things in your life that matter. Most importantly, if you understand politics, you can change things yourself 0:00-0:19 Pair Activity (5 mins) Which of these parts of your life do you think the government has affected in the past year? Getting a part-time or summer job in somewhere like Starbucks or WH Smiths What you learn about in school What you can do/see on the internet Getting your first car Whether or not you can vote Image Sources 1- http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/53a279bf6bb3f7a9726c6f18-1190-625/politics-is-turning-america-into-a-predictive-and-boring-nation.jpg References 1- Career choices after secondary school What nutrients you get from eating bread All of these parts of life have been/are being changed by government this year. The minimum wage has been raised so you earn more in basic jobs, car tax has gone up so your first car could be more expensive and football tickets are being made cheaper for young people The cost of a ticket for a football match http://viewpure.com/CGChURmGkLI?start=0&end=0 ©VotesForSchools2016

Issues to consider What is a democracy? Making democracy work How does democracy work in the UK? Politics has got nothing to do with me… The difficulties with democracy Make Your Mark! Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

The difficulties with democracy The UK is a democracy (so are most countries in the world now*). The great thing about this is it means every UK citizen over the age of 18 can vote for who runs the country (except for prisoners and others in specific circumstances**) Group/Pair Activity (3 mins) Have a look at the money bags below. Discuss together and vote for which bag has more money in it 1 2 Let’s see who picked the right one… A democracy can be like that. If you vote in an election for the next government, but you don’t know anything about them or the other parties, you are just gambling with your future. A democracy works much better when people learn about what they are voting on £10 £50,000 Image Sources 1- http://www.visionevents.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/money-bag.jpg 2- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Logo_Labour_Party.svg/1280px-Logo_Labour_Party.svg.png 3- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f7/Liberal_Democrats_logo_2014.svg/1200px-Liberal_Democrats_logo_2014.svg.png 4- https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/logos/visual-identity/GPLogoStackedGREEN300dpi.png *The majority of countries in the world now have some form of democracy. However, there is a Democracy Index which assess the extent to which democracies are open and stable. The UK is a ‘full democracy’; a stable, long-standing, open democracy. Many nations have flawed or partial democracies. See – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index ** See link for exact details on restrictions on voting - http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-02208.pdf That was a pretty rubbish debate. It was more like gambling if you think about it. You just had to guess randomly which bag might be the best for you ©VotesForSchools2016

The difficulties with democracy Each week we will debate different subjects that are in the news. The aim of each lesson is to learn more about those subjects so you know what is happening in the world around you (Click the picture to watch the video) 0:00-0:54 Click the image to watch a video of the Prime Minister (Theresa May) and leader of the Labour party (Jeremy Corbyn) debating our health service Group Activity (4-6 mins) Can you come up with a list of facts/thoughts you need to learn before you decide whether hospitals are in trouble? Pair Question (2-3 mins) What is the problem with debating without finding out the facts first? Image Sources 1- https://www.tes.com/sites/default/files/news_article_images/grammar_school_4.jpg References 1- A debate is not just an argument that you should try to win. It is a chance for you to learn more about an issue and think about changing your mind about it. http://viewpure.com/mD45ScDMvr8?start=0&end=0 ©VotesForSchools2016

Issues to consider What is a democracy? Making democracy work How does democracy work in the UK? Politics has got nothing to do with me… The difficulties with democracy Make Your Mark! Image Sources 1- References ©VotesForSchools2016

0:00-0:41 Make Your Mark! Every November, the UK Youth Parliament comes together to debate issues in the House of Commons. The debate the subjects that you care for. You just have to vote and tell them! Click the picture to see what is happening. Along with 1 million other young people, you will be able to pick the issues you care about most. The top issues are debated in Parliament. You will also have an opportunity to learn more about these topics and find out how to do something about them. Do you care about university fees or whether we leave the EU? VotesforSchools and Make your Mark will help you learn more about them by giving resources to your school. Image Sources 1- http://99percentcampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dsc_0612copy1.jpg 2- https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/docs/body/flag_yellow_low.jpg References 1- What is it you care about most? Is it being able to vote at the age of 16? Is it whether people feel able to talk about mental health? Is it cuts to the NHS? This is your chance to say what you care about most. http://viewpure.com/_kxyuTlX3bk?start=0&end=0 ©VotesForSchools2016