Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom: overview of Section 1 of SQA National 5 Modern Studies
An overview of Section 1 of SQA National 5 Modern Studies, Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom, covering devolution and the division of powers, the Scottish Parliament and Government, the voting systems FPTP, AMS and STV, elections and campaigns, and participation, representation and influence.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Democracy in Scotland and the United Kingdom is Section 1 of the SQA National 5 Modern Studies question paper, worth 20 marks. It studies how Scotland and the UK are governed and how citizens take part. This page maps the topics and shows how they connect.
The topics
- Devolution and the division of powers
- Devolution transferred powers to the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 1998. Devolved powers (health, education, justice, transport) are decided in Scotland; reserved powers (defence, foreign affairs, immigration, the economy) stay with Westminster.
- The Scottish Parliament and Government
- The Parliament of 129 MSPs makes laws, represents people and holds the Scottish Government (the First Minister and ministers) to account through questions, committees, debates and votes.
- Voting systems
- First Past the Post elects the UK Parliament; the Additional Member System elects the Scottish Parliament; the Single Transferable Vote elects Scottish councils. Each has advantages and disadvantages around proportionality and strong government.
- Elections and campaigns
- Parties campaign using manifestos, canvassing, broadcasts, the media and social media, and voting is influenced by policies, leaders, the media, age and party loyalty.
- Participation, representation and influence
- Citizens take part by voting, joining parties, standing for election and joining pressure groups and trade unions, which influence decisions through lobbying, petitions, demonstrations and industrial action.
How to study Section 1
- Sort powers into devolved or reserved. Most confusion comes from mixing up the two parliaments; learn the reserved list.
- Learn each voting system precisely. Know how FPTP, AMS and STV work and where each is used.
- Practise describe and explain answers. Describe asks for developed features; explain asks for developed reasons with consequences.
- Revise from SQA marking instructions. They show the wording markers credit.
For the official course specification
The SQA publishes the full National 5 Modern Studies course specification, specimen paper and past papers with marking instructions at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers.