How Laws Are Made

This video from Parliament.uk provides a clear, plain-language guide to the steps involved in making a proposal for new legislation into a binding law within the UK:

Voting systems and debates

There are two general approaches to voting systems: simple majority and proportional representation. The BBC provides an interactive guide to various voting systems (only one is a simple majority system: first past the post); use this to note definitions of FPTP and the other PR systems, and where in the UK they are used.

Click here to visit the site

You can also find superior, more detailed definitions at http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/voting-systems/ or at http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/.

This table can be found here, with more detailed breakdowns of voting systems and more international examples of where they're each used

You'll be asked to find arguments for or against FPTP and STV (as an example of PR): use these links - FPTP, STV.

This is another very useful site for comparing arguments for/against FPTP.

Local government - some resources

First up, five especially useful sources for finding out more about local government:
1: The Ilkley Gazette is an obvious starting point - look for recent stories which tell you anything about the powers or spending of the local council - what do they fund, what do they control? (I've linked some sample articles below)

The BBC's guide on local government funding

2: The gov.uk guide breaks down some of the many roles and responsibilities of local and regional councils.(scroll to bottom for a screenshot)

3: There is always the wiki on Local Government in England...

4: The Guardian newspaper has a useful microsite bringing together all its articles on local government.
Here, for example, is an article on an analysis of spending cuts faced by local councils nationwide, from May 9th, 2013.

5: The BBC provide this useful guide on local government funding.

Further resources on local government:
Here's the BBC or the Financial Times on the story about spending cuts for local government ... or try the Local Government Chronicle!.

Here's an article analysing Local Government Minister Eric Pickles' 1.7% funding cut for 2013-14.

Elsewhere, you can find lost of analysis on the topic of library closures, such as this Guardian article (and here's their microsite bringing together all articles on this topic).
The BBC also report on this story.
Google carries a lot of news links for the search 'local government cuts'.

The cuts have impacted locally; here's a few stories that refer to Ilkley or Keighley:
(BBC) Council services face further cuts;
(Telegraph) Titchmarsh: Sin to cut funding for parks;
(Ilkley Gazette) Shock and outrage at Otley food bank need;
(Ilkley Gazette): Charity battle as funds run out.


The gov.uk guide breaks down some of the many roles and responsibilities of local and regional councils.

Rapping Bananas

This is from a FairTrade campaign from a few years ago - you can see a wide range of other short films/videos produced by FT by clicking here.
(view on Vimeo if you want to avoid ads)

Twitter and the long arm of the law

Few people seem to realise they can be fined or jailed for the content of their tweets...

A student who racially abused footballer Fabrice Muamba received a 56 day sentence in March 2012 …

lThe same month as a law student was given 2 years community service after pleading guilty to racially abusing ex-footballer Stan Collymore on Twitter.

lKuwait jailed a citizen in January 2013 for tweeting an insult about the emir 

Lord McAlpine is suing 500 Twitter users for tweeting he was a paedophile (he's offering to let users with less than 500 followers off if they donate £25 to Children in Need). He's suing Sally Bercow for £50,000 damages 

See David Conn's analysis of an official report into the racism and other abuse footballers and clubs have received on Twitter and other social media.

lThe Attorney General is seeking fines or imprisonment for the Twitter (and Facebook) users who posted pictures of Jamie Bulger, in contempt of court proceedings. Google, Facebook + Twitter were all ordered to remove the pictures.

Another tweeter was arrested in July 2012 for messages about Tom Daley's late father.

Back in August 2012 The Guardian published a list of 10 ways in which Twitter users could find themselves in court.

The case that perhaps best demonstrates how far the police are prepared to get involved over tweets concerns a joke, but was no laughing matter for the tweeter involved, who was found guilty and faced jail after 3 trials, but finally won his freedom after his third appeal succeeded at the High Court and his conviction was quashed.

Here's some resources to help you explore this case, gather 5 key facts, and 5 specific arguments for and/or against his conviction:

Lets start with the Wiki on the case! 

Here's an editorial from The Guardian on the case; 

Comedian Al Murray writes on the case; 

(Now former) Tory MP Louise Mensch condemns the prosecution;

More reaction to the ruling; 

After the publicity the case recieved, the legal guidelines on when to prosecute social media users was altered to prevent unnecessary prosecutions in future - here's a BBC summary. 

There are yet more Guardian articles here, or simply try googling 'twitter joke trial' with additional search terms. 

Media and the law

There are various key resources we will use for this:
Wikis on the Press Complaints Commission and libel/slander; the Press Complaints Commission's own website; Media Guardian articles on media law; my blog on Media Regulation.

Lets start by pinning down the difference between libel and slander:

"Defamation" is the general term used internationally, and is used in this article where it is not necessary to distinguish between "slander" and "libel". Libel and slander both require publication. The fundamental distinction between libel and slander lies solely in the form in which the defamatory matter is published. If the offending material is published in some fleeting form, as by spoken words or sounds, sign language, gestures and the like, then this is slander. [SOURCE]

Lets check out today's front pages: thepaperboy.com
Do you think these papers serve our democratic need to be well informed citizens? What sort of content is featured as headline 'news'?

Budget, Revenue and Spending

The money raised by the government through taxation, assets and borrowing is its revenue, whereas the money paid out is known as government spending. We are currently experiencing widespread government spending cuts. Your generation could grow up with austerity the defining approach to government finance.
Every year the Chancellor of the Exchequer, second only to the Prime Minister in terms of seniority and authority within the government (and many would argue that Gordon Brown was more powerful as Tony Blair's Chancellor than when he became PM himself), sets out the government spending plans, including any changes to revenue-raising (taxes etc), in the Budget.

The Budget is the single most important economic and financial statement made each year by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to Parliament and the nation. The Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 require the Government to produce a Budget Report for each financial year. The Charter for Budget Responsibility sets out what the Budget Report must cover.  [source: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget.htm]

Here's a short history of the Budget:



Every budget has winners and losers. In theory at least, Labour governments (at least before Tony Blair) would set budgets that reduced tax on the poor whilst increasing spending on the poor, using increased corporation (business) and wealth (income) tax to pay for this, while the Tories would cut public spending overall, especially welfare payments to the poor, and focus on reducing tax on the rich and business. The  2012 budget was extremely controversial: the so-called pasty tax (here's the BBC's take) seemed to penalise the poor while the richest saw their income tax cut from 50% to 45%.
After every budget the media quickly calculates who they think will the winners and losers, as do think tanks such as the IFS. The Guardian analyse the 2012 winners and losers from the autumn 2012 statement, which was heavy on welfare cuts, here.

TASK 1: LIST FORMS OF TAXATION
This is a very simple task that you can achieve by quickly browsing the relevant Wikis, hyperlinked above, and looking for the different forms of taxation they list. You should be able to find at least 9. They don't list Council Tax as they focus on national taxation. Write or type these 9, + Council Tax.

The Wiki on public finance is full of useful facts, including the range of taxes the government uses to raise revenue. There is also a separate Wiki on taxation.