A
Abstain: MSPs might abstain in a vote. This means that they are voting neither for nor against a motion. There is a special button on their desk if they wish to abstain during a vote.
Act: A law passed by the Scottish Parliament that has received Royal Assent
Additional Member System: The voting system used to choose the regional MSPs in the Scottish Parliament.
Amendment: An amendment is a change to the text of a motion that is put forward by another MSP. It will usually change the motion in a way to reflect a different viewpoint
B
Bill: a set of proposals that might become a law, if Parliament agrees to it.
C
Chamber: or Debating Chamber, this is the place for the meetings of Parliament.
Civil Servants: People who work for the Government. They are expected to be neutral, in other words not do anything that favours one Party over another.
Clerks: Clerks are people who work for the Parliament. Their job is to organise all the business in the Chamber and in Committees, and to make sure that the MSPs follow all the rules.
Coalition: an arrangement between more than one political party/group, usually to for a government. This would usually happen when no party wins more than half of the seats in the Parliament.
Committees: A group of MSPs from different parties who deal with specialised topics like Health, the Environment, Rural Affairs and Europe.
Commons, House of: This is the name of part of the Parliament for the United Kingdom, where Members of Parliament meet to debate.
Constituency: A local area which elects one MSP using the First Past the Post voting system. There are 73 constituencies in Scotland.
Constituency MSPs: These MSPs are elected to represent one particular Constituency, or local area in Scotland. There are 73 of them who are elected using the First Past the Post voting system.
D
Debate: A discussion that takes place between the MSPs in the Debating Chamber of the Parliament. The topic for the debate is called a motion and is put forward by a MSP. After the debate, there will usually be a vote on the motion.
Decision Time: The time in the debating chamber when MSPs make decisions by voting on motions debated during the meeting of parliament. Voting is carried out by an electronic voting system.
Democracy: This means “rule by the people”, in other words everyone in the country should have a say in what happens and what is decided. In a democratic country there are elections where the people have a free choice on who they want to be in charge, they are entitled to their own opinions, and they have the right to criticise the Government.
Devolution: Where the power to do things moves closer to the people who are affected. The Scottish Parliament, The Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly are examples of devolution.
Devolved Matters: The policy issues that are decided in the Scottish Parliament, such as health, education, housing and the environment.
E
Electorate: the collective name given to all the people who have the right to vote.
Elections: These are used to choose the people in charge of our country. Everyone over the age of 16 usually gets the chance to vote in a Scottish election.
Executive: The term given in the Scotland Act to the government of Scotland. Between 1999 and 2007, the government was known as the Scottish Executive. Parliament still uses this term in parliamentary proceedings.
F
First Minister: The head of the Scottish Government.
First Minister’s Question Time (FMQT): A period when MSPs ask questions of the First Minister at a meeting of the Parliament.
First past the post: Voting system where the candidate who obtains the largest number of votes is elected.