D*D*D* achieved for this course, BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Public Services. All assignments completed to maximum grade, and referenced where appropriate. Leave a review if you have any questions! Anna :)
Government, Policies and the Public Services
Electoral Processes
Who can stand for electonn and the candidate selecton process
To stand for a Parliamentary electonn the requirements are that an individual must be 21 years oldn and either
a Britshn Commonwealthn or Republic of Ireland citien. At least 10 registered electors in the consttuency
must nominate themn and if they wish to stand for a partcular partyn they must seek authorisaton from the
head of said party. Without authorisatonn an individual is deemed an independent. A £500 deposit must be
paid upon enrolment as a candidaten and if the candidate receives 5% of the votes cast the money is returned
to them. Prisoners serving more than 12 months may not stand for electon.
There are many diferent kinds of selecton methods for politcal partes with more than one eligible candidate.
A selecton procedure ensures that the candidate most likely to win the seat is selected. Independents do not
need to go through a candidate selecton process. For examplen a party can draw up a list of centrally approved
candidates from which the local branch can choose. In many waysn it is similar to the public services selecton
procedure. Candidate’s CV’s and applicaton forms will have been checkedn and background checks will have
been performed. These candidates may have been through a weekend of apttude testsn too. MPs who wish to
stand are usually automatcally approved. Alternatvelyn the local branch of the party can interview potental
candidates and select which one they want to represent and serve their area.
Influence of the party systems on electonsn and the period of electon
Politcal partes influence electon processes massively. This is demonstrated through the fact that the politcal
party in power at the tme is also the authority responsible for deciding when to hold the next general electon.
As a result of thisn a general electon could be called at any point through a 5 year periodn and the party in
power are able to choose a tme where they believe they are most likely to win. Additonallyn this party is able
to make partcular manoeuvres very close to the tme of the electonn which are almost guaranteed to gain
them popularity; for examplen they might reduce taxes immediately before the electon. Independent
candidates and smaller politcal partes are defnitely at a major disadvantage when up against the party in
power and its main oppositon partyn as they do not have access to the same funds and resources to gain
publicity and help them win the seat. In the UKn the period of electon can be between one and fve years
depending on the post the candidate is elected to. On averagen a Mayor will serve for one yearn a councillor
will serve up to fourn and an MP up to fven before they are required to stand down or be re-elected.
Representatves and why candidates use publicity
If a candidate wishes to be successfuln it is crucial they become well known and popular within the area they
are hoping to represent. This means they will end up partcipatng in a lot of publicity workn which includes
sending leaflets to housesn displaying postersn and canvassing door-to-door in hope of getng more people on
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