At present, voters have no power of removal

over their own MPs. Once elected, an MP can

switch sides, criminally abuse his expenses or
even emigrate to Bermuda while still drawing a
salary. By buttering up his constituency party, a
lazy MP in a safe seat can become
untouchable.

Spectator newspaper 15
th
July 2009
What do you think of politics?
Look at the following 6 images and write
down any words/thoughts that come to
mind once you have seen them
1
2
3
4
5
6
Is politics old fashioned?
Does politics need to change?
How can politics be more
relevant to 21
st
century life?
How has politics changed?
How should society influence
changes in politics?
Lesson objectives
To develop knowledge of political reform - past, present
and future
Success criteria
The best work will:
Discuss and share ideas
Prioritise and justify ideas with explanation
Analyse data to create an argument
Task
Worksheet - Proposals for political
reform by the British public
Lesson 2
Worksheet - Expansion of the franchise
Discussion how else may electoral
voting be reformed?
Ideas Lowered to 16?
Prisoners allowed to vote?
More educated people get 2/3 votes?
Starter
Write one sentence to explain how each of
the proposals for political reform might
have a positive or negative on the political
process.
Learning Objectives
To know five key political reforms since the 19
th
Century.
To know the definition of Proportional Representation.
To understand the advantages and disadvantages of
Proportional Representation.
To discuss other possible ways of reforming the political
process.
Success Criteria. The best work will:
Summarise five key changes in the political process.
Will clearly be able to express in writing and verbally what PR is.
Will complete a table of the advantages and disadvantages of PR
and use these to come to a decision as to whether PR should be
introduced.
Discuss and suggest other ways in which the political system could
be changed in the future.

Some voting systems try to match
the number of seats a party wins to
the number of votes cast for it. This
is called
proportional
representation.
Why might some of the main parties not like the idea of
proportional representation?
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of PR?

Advantages of proportional representation
The number of MPs in the parliament is more likely to
reflect the total number of votes cast per party.
It is unlikely that a party with a minority of votes can form
a government.
Voters may be more likely to vote if they think it will
count, so this could increase turn out and promote
democracy.


Criticisms of proportional representation
Voters are less able to hold a government responsible
for its actions by kicking it out at the next election.
The list system, especially a closed list means that
voters can only vote for a party, not a candidate, who
they might trust as a person.
It can be harder for politicians to make difficult decisions
when there is a mixture of parties sharing power in a
coalition government.