The general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election.

The UK political parties are

Labour

Conservatives

Liberal Democrats

British National Party UK Independence party (UKIP)

Green party
Plaid Cymri Party (Wales)

The first UK election was in 1802. In 1801 the right to vote was a severely restricted practice. The fifth Reform Act Universal suffrage, on an equal basis for men and women over the age of 21, was established in 1929 (Meaning that men AND women over 21 could vote). 1969- Representation of the People Act extended the vote to all men and women over 18. The UK general election is due to take place on 6th May.

This task will test your knowledge of UK politics (if you dont know the answers then just guess!)

In pairs or groups, sort the cards into LEFT and RIGHT wing categories in terms of: Political parties- (Liberal democrats, Conservatives, BNP and New Labour) Typical Values What newspapers support them?

LEFT wing

RIGHT wing

Political Parties: Liberal Democrats, New Labour Typical values: Freedom of expression Higher taxes to pay for public services Equality and equal opportunities Liberalism Newspapers: The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Mirror.

Political Parties: Conservatives, BNP

Typical values: Lower taxes to encourage class difference Nationalism Less tolerance of equal opportunities Newspapers: The Sun, The News of the World, The Daily Telegraph.

The Sun usually supports the Government in power, and has swung between Left and right political bias in the past. Today it leans towards right wing, as they believe that the Conservatives will win the next election.

Example: The article is about the BBC being biased against the conservatives. The headline is Blatantly biased against Conservatives showing their support and defending the Conservatives. The article uses hyperbolic language to defend them: e.g. Alarming BBC bias Ashamed to make the story seem important and to create sensationalism. They claim that news coverage, chat shows and kids TV shows were guilty.

Mainly Right Wing

The article is about David Camerons plans on immigration. The article presents Cameron in a positive way making his intentions clear. It also has a picture of his wife helping out in the community. The Daily Star shows that it is right wing by supporting the conservatives. The story is big, compared to a story about Gordon Brown underneath, which makes it seem trivial in comparison.

Leans Left wing: supports Labour Government.

Example: The front page of the Daily Mirror shows that it is clearly a left wing newspaper. The article represents the conservatives negatively, giving advice to readers of Dont get conned. They describe the conservatives as inexperienced and advise readers to vote Labour instead.

Leans Right wing: supports conservatives.

Example: This article shows that the News of the World clearly support the conservatives, with the title

Its time for change and time for hope and the quote David Cameron must be given a chance.
The article blames Labour for being unsuccessful and therefore represents the conservatives positively. Hyperbolic and emotive language sensationalises the political issue.

Political bias in newspapers: Appeals to readers if they identify themselves with having the same values, e.g. readers who support right wing policies may read The News of the World. Newspapers inform and educate readers, however the information provided will be affected by bias and may be sensationalised to appeal to readers.

Each party has its own website, which is available to everyone. The use of websites shows how political parties are using new media to target their audience. For example: The website uses videos with David Cameron and the other conservative MPs talking about policies and issues.
There are links to twitter, Facebook, you tube, live stream, delicious, I phone, and pod casts. Liberal Democrats: There are links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Iphone and Blackberry. Labour: There are links to Twitter and Facebook There are video links.

There are video links on the website also.

The websites outline the parties policies, and provide users with information.

Social media quickens the pace of how news is distributed. A story which is sent out on Twitter, can soon end up on Facebook or YouTube - there's no need to wait for a newspaper or TV bulletin to share information. The sites give voters a direct line to the candidates, and provide a place for people to discuss ideas and policies.
The internet was of course around in the last few UK general elections, but social media this time round is replacing traditional "static" websites.

The political parties are accessible on social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The guardian website states that Gordon Brown defended the NHS via Twitter. The use of Twitter shows that the MP is using new media to connect with the people. People can use Blogging to share their views about politics. By using the internet, it is easier for people to get across their views as it is not regulated like other media forms. Internet use allows people to share their views, rather than the media injecting them with information and being passive. It also allows everybody, in terms of age and class to get their views across, whereas in the past they may not have been able to do so easily. However, it is limited to people with computer access.

Leading up to the election, the conservatives have used posters in order to win over voters.

Labour reacted to these posters by changing the original poster:

The conservatives have used posters mocking and attacking Gordon Brown to win over voters.

Labour have an election poster depicting David Cameron as TV detective Gene Hunt, claiming he will take Britain back to the 1980s. Hunt is famous for his no-nonsense, politically incorrect style. Cash-strapped Labour held an competition for the new campaign poster to save money on their election advertising.

Labour use this poster to portray Gordon Brown positively and David Cameron negatively.

Mock the Week

Scenes wed like to see Bad ways for Gordon Brown to address the nation Comedians mock hes Scottish accent, and play on the idea that because hes Scottish hes stereotypically like Mel Gibson in Braveheart. All the private life of Gordon Brown is discovered by journalists and then on Mock the Week they insult and use his personal life to gain a comedic affect. Gordon Brown gets shown no hope or respect for being the Prime Minister of Britain. Gordon Browns national identity is insulted even though he is the prime minister. This therefore makes the comedy more funny, because he is a global political figure and millions of people are aware of who he is, so they can understand his flaws when there insulted.

Monday 29 Mar 2010 Channel 4 The prospective chancellors from Labour, The Conservatives and The Liberal Democrats participated in alive election program.

Labour: Alistair Darling Conservative: George Osborn Lib Dem: Vince Cable
CH4 picked a selection of questions sent in by the audience that reflect the biggest concerns. However, the people picked appeared to only be professional people: a Marketing manager, a Doctor, a Teacher, and a Business man etc. and they were only middle aged and older people, excluding young people and lower class people.

15th April 2010 ITV. The first of three televised debates was shown with the leaders Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

The 2010 UK general election debates consist of a series of debates conducted on live TV between the leaders of the three main parties contesting in the general election. It is the first time such live debates have occurred in a UK election.

The arrangements for the UK leaders debates have been criticised for being restricted to the main UK parties excluding other national minor parties. Instant polling after the first debate showed Nick Clegg as the winner, with most showing David Cameron came second and Gordon Brown last.

At the 1997 general election, similar debates were wanted, but did not take place as the political parties and the broadcasters could not agree on a format acceptable to all sides in the time available.
In 2009, Sky News began a campaign for leaders debates which was followed by a joint proposal from the BBC, ITV and BSkyB to stage three live election debates between leaders of the three main political parties, one debate for each broadcaster.

On 21 December 2009, agreement was reached between the three main parties and the three broadcasters, on the key principles behind holding live election debates for the 2010 election campaign. The December 2009 key principles agreed were that the three main party leaders would appear together in three separate live television debates, and be given equal treatment. The hype that the televised debates lead to the three parties to gain much voyeuristic attention because it was the first time this has ever happened. Also all the debates inject to all the viewers each of the parties thoughts of how theyre want to run the country. Although the Labour party have been inoculating the UK for years with the things that they have wanted to do.

Broadcasters are not allowed to express political bias, but newspapers are merely controlled and regulated within the scope of their own self-regulation and statutory controls. Although the press may be free from official state censorship, unlike film, broadcasting or advertising, there are forms of legislation which force impositions on this freedom. The Broadcasting Act 1990, as amended and expanded by the Broadcasting Act 1996,7 establishes two bodies to license and regulate private broadcasting in the UK, the Radio Authority and the Independent Television Commission, with members appointed by the Government, although in practice they function relatively independently of government control.

Broadcasters must meet the requirements of the Representation of the People Act in relation to election and party political broadcasts. In particular, broadcasters should not let those being interviewed, including politicians and senior public figures, dictate the topics being covered or the way interviews are presented. News and political broadcasting during election periods is governed by complicated rules set out in legislation dealing specifically with elections. These rules seek to prevent discrimination.

 The media is used by everyone throughout the globe, and its consistently involved in peoples lives. And in the media our government is constantly being exploited in the media, because the media injects thoughts into audiences to believe certain things that are not entirely true. However the BBC are entrusted with the Royal Charter which means that they have to use their information correctly and not elaborate on any information.

Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S.
The most recent election occurred on November 4, 2008, with the next one scheduled for November 6, 2012. The 2008 election was the 56th US Presidential Election. The election ended with democratic leader Barack Obama winning the election against senator John McCain.

Two parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have dominated American politics since the American Civil War, although other parties have also existed.
The United States is one of the world's developed democracies in which third parties have the least political influence.

Obamas logo was used throughout his presidential campaign, which therefore became one of the most recognisable logos in the campaign.

Obamas campaign used the slogan:

And the chant:

Obama used Facebook and Myspace to connect with the people throughout his campaign to ensure they were aware of his policies and understand what he stood for. This also allows him to get in touch with the younger voters, and to persuade them to vote for him. On the MySpace page, the centrepiece is off Obama. Also Obamas logo that he used throughout his presidential campaign appears throughout his page.

The logo has become so recognisable with Americans that they are instantly aware of what that stands for and what the logo is about.
The effectiveness of using MySpace has allowed Obama to use the power of social networking to reach out into younger audiences and inject them with his ideologies if hed be president. But also it shows to the younger audiences that when a president is elected younger audiences are involved within the progress of who is elected as well as adults. This doesnt neglect the fact that younger people have voices that need to be listened as well.

Obamas use of the internet targeted 18 to 29 year olds, the age group most reliant on new media for political information about the election. Numbers have shown that presidential candidates have increased their presence and activity online.

Obamas campaign managers understood that the reason younger voters tended to ignore politicians was because politicians tended to ignore issues which most concerned them, which is why Obama received such a positive reaction from America's youth.

Obama also used TV adverts to help with his campaign, the advert consisted of him empathising on his patriotism for America, the advert was shown in 18 states in America.

Barack Obamas Podcast

Throughout his campaign the president used podcasts as another way to inform his fellow Americans of what plans he has for the country. The effect of using the podcasts as a way of communicating is that it allowed people to easily download them, gets attention from the public, and people are able to listen to them on their iPods, computers, laptops. Even now the website is constantly updating itself with the latest podcasts made by the president.

He also asked a British soul singer Joss Stone to write a song about his presidential campaign, reportedly due to the fact that she appeals across racial boundaries. This shows that he was trying to branch out into the different ethnic groups in America via music. Obama's candidacy inspired artists to create more music and music videos than any other candidate in American political history. Examples include "Yes We Can" by will.i.am, of the band Black-Eyed Peas.

The Barack Obama "hope" poster was an iconic image of Barack Obama designed by artist Shepard Fairey. It consisted of a stylized stencil portrait of Obama in solid red, white and (pastel and dark) blue. Either the words "progress", "hope", or "change" were under the image of Obama It was created and distributed widelyas a digital image, and on posters during the 2008 election season. The image became one of the most widely recognized symbols of Obama's campaign message.

South Park

Within 2 days of becoming president, Barack Obama starred in South Park. The show took a political turn when it depicted Democrat Obama's victory in an episode shown in the States. It parodied his win and showed Obama conspiring with Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin to steal the $210m Hope Diamond through an Ocean's Eleven-style plan.

Mock the Week UK media

Barack Obama and John McCain Comedian Frankie Boyle has no restrains to insult and mock Barack Obama just before his Presidential Election. Audiences enjoying watching this programme to be entertained by comedians as they mock people who are constantly in the news. They find it funnier when people like Barack Obama and Gordon Brown are the subject of humour, because audiences are constantly being inoculated through the media during their campaigns or any other activities there involved in. They also insult John McCain because hes media representation is very patriotic, however they dont take that into consideration however use his disabilities and his war role as a way to find humour.

Obama and Camerons Slogan

Obamas campaign slogan was Change we can believe in and then the public would chant back yes we can. Then from this David Cameron changed his slogan to Plan for Change, this is because Obamas slogan was so successful when he used it.

The media creates political hegemony by presenting dominant people as leaders. For example, UK politicians are represented as important people of high status and are potential leaders of the country. They are treated differently, almost like celebrities. The media constructs hegemony and enables certain people to have power, where they make important decisions when running the country. However, this also means that the audience and media have the power to blame these people when things go wrong. An example is when Barack Obama was up for election, and his wife was wearing designer clothes and in magazines, showing the Obamas important status.