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Explore UK political landscape with detailed information on key figures, parties, agendas, and top priorities. Learn about House of Commons, House of Lords, Prime Minister, and official leaders. Get insight into proposed measures on jobs, spending, ID cards, Afghanistan, health, tax, immigration, and education. Delve into democracy's core principles, including citizen rights, voting, participation, and equality. Understand controversial topics like prisoners' exclusion from democratic rights.
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HEAD OF STATE – The Queen House of Commons PRIME MINISTER – Head of Government – Gordon Brown House of Lords • Elected MPs (646 members) – of which: • Labour (356) • Conservative (198) • Liberal Democrat (62) 735 members – Hereditary or Life Peers
Jobs: • All under-25s out of work for a year to be offered work or training • More funding for job centres and sixth-form colleges • Spending/Budget: • Immediate cuts • No cut to Health. Education, Law & Order • ID Cards: • Push ahead with plan but no immediate need to make compulsory • Afghanistan: • No walk-out • Gradual hand-over of power • Troops ‘have adequate equipment’ • Health: • Maintain funding • Find £15bn - £20bn wastage • Data for performance of doctors • Tax: • 50p for earnings over £150,000 • Gradual hand-over of power • Troops ‘have adequate equipment’ • Immigration: • E-borders by 2014 • Clear asylum backlog by 2011 • Tighten entry restrictions • Education: • Save £2bn by axing senior staff • Restructuring of pay • Improve school discipline
Jobs: • Scrap RDA and New Deal • Tax breaks for new and small businesses • Spending/Budget: • Immediate cuts • No cut to Health, International Development • End to subsidised food and alcohol for MPs and cut to salaries • ID Cards: • Scrap plans • Restrict storage of DNA • Health: • Maintain funding with increase by 2012 • Performance tables for every medic • Over-65’s residential costs paid for with one-off £8000 fee • Reform dentistry including school checks • Afghanistan: • Restructure withdrawal • Ensure more helicopters and equipment • Tax: • Keep current system • Some changes to pensions • Increase on alcopops and high strength beer/cider • Immigration: • Place annual limit on numbers admitted • Attract ‘brightest’ and ‘best’ migrants • New border force • Education: • Encourage privately set up schools • Failing schools to be taken over
Jobs: • Guaranteed work or training for all young people out of work for more than 90 days • Spending/Budget: • Immediate cuts to all areas • Save by scrapping new building schemes, compulsory education to 18 • ID Cards: • Scrap – remove all innocent people from DNA database • Strengthen data protection • Health: • Downsize Department of Health • Ward sisters to take control of budgets • Tax breaks for living healthy lifestyles • Afghanistan: • Not ruled out walk-out – will follow US strategy • Tax: • Increase for most wealthy • Raise threshold to £10,000 • Mansion tax • Higher road/flying tax • Immigration: • Earned citizenship for illegal immigrants • New border force • Charge more for work permits and use to retrain British workers • Education: • Scrap 50% higher ed target • End selection • Scrap National Curriculum
Democracy "Democracy is the most valued and also the vaguest of political terms in the modern world." (Daniel Robertson, 1986)
Democracy • Based on the belief that every citizen over a certain age should has the right to vote on political issues and that the majority decision leads to law
Democracy • Every citizen invited to political meetings and able to take part in free discussion
Democracy • Also offers the rights to stand for political office
Democracy • Applies to all regardless of gender, religious belief, race, sexuality, ability etc. • Prisoners excluded – democratic rights suspended (controversial)