1. Answers to UK Parliamentary Elections worksheet

2. Question  What’s an election?

3. Answer  An election is where a group of people select a someone to represent them either directly or indirectly

4. Question  Why have elections?

5. Answer  Elections are seen to reflect the democratic nature of a society or institution.  It also helps democratic process by allowing multiple voices to be heard through an elected representative  It gives legitimacy to the views articulated by an elected representative

6. Question  What is a general election?

7. Answer  in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.by-electionslocal elections

8. Question  What is a political party?

9. Answer  A political party is a group people who share the same ideas/ideology about the way the country should be governed

10. Question  Identify as many mainstream political parties as you can

11. Answer  Ukip  Conservative  Labour  The Greens  LibDems

12. Question  How are Parliamentary Candidates chosen?

13. Answer  Must join the political party they want represent  They’re nominated in a selection process  They’re selected from a Hustings event

14. Question  Who can’t vote in UK elections

15. Answer  Under 18  In prison  Sectioned under mental health act  Not on the electoral role

16. Question  How do people vote?

17. Answer  Polling station  Postal vote  By proxy (a voter who has become ill or disabled after 5pm six working days before polling day can make an emergency application to vote by proxy as long as the application is received by 5pm on polling day )

18. Question  What is a constituency?  How many are their?

19. Answer  A body of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body  In 2010 election - 650

20. Question  How many seats are there in the House of Commons?

21. Answer  650

22. Question  What time of electoral system do we use?

23. Answer  First past the post system

24. Question  How many seats did each of the three main parties win in the 2010 election?

25. Answer  Conservatives 307  Labour 258  Lib Dems 57

26. Question  How many votes did each of the three main parties win in the 2010 election?

27. Answer  Conservatives – 10,726,614  Labour – 8,609,527  Lib Dems – 6,836, 824

28. Question  What conclusion can you come two if you compare the number of seats won in relation to the number of seats gained?

29. Answer  The number of seats isn’t proportional to the number of seats gained