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uk politics > 3. electoral systems > Flashcards

3. electoral systems Flashcards

1
Q

main roles of political elections

A
  1. form governments
  2. ensure representation
  3. uphold legitimacy
  4. development of policy
  5. limit the power of elected representatives
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2
Q
  1. form governments
A
  • the party with the majority get to form a government
  • by electing them, the people have given the representatives a mandate to carry out their manifesto pledges
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3
Q
  1. ensure representation
A
  • MPs provide a link between the people and the government
  • allows us to have a say in policy formation
  • should represent our views and demographics
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4
Q
  1. upholds legitimacy
A
  • a government has to have the consent of the people to be legitimate in a democracy
  • turnout has to be high enough to ensure this
  • eg the 2010 coalition, neither side had a majority but together they got 59% of the vote (debatable in terms of legitimacy)
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5
Q
  1. development of policy
A
  • feedback from the public during election campaigns can cause a party to adapt to their policy
  • eg the 2017 conservatives dropped their ‘dementia tax’ policy which said that older people should sell their homes to pay for care which was met with considerable backlash
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6
Q
  1. limit the power of elected representatives
A
  • ensures no government can rule for longer than 5 years
  • ‘frequent, fair and free’ elections
  • holds the current ones to account as they know they will have to seek re-election
  • many conservative MPs are standing down next election as a result of a poor conservative government
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7
Q

types of voting systems

A
  • majoritarian
  • pluralist
  • proportional
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8
Q

majoritarian system

A
  • an electoral system that over represents larger parties
  • usually results in a single party majority government
  • the winning candidate must secure an absolute majority (over 50%) of the vote
  • choose multiple candidates in order of preference
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9
Q

examples of majoritarian electoral systems

A
  • supplementary vote (sv)
  • alternative vote (av)
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10
Q

pluralist electoral system

A
  • having more votes that anyone else
  • no majority is needed to win a seat
  • results in a 2 party system
  • eg FPTP
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11
Q

proportional electoral system

A

allocates seats roughly according to the percentage share of the vote

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12
Q

examples of proportional electoral systems

A
  • additional members system (ams)
  • single transferable vote (stv)
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13
Q

Scottish parliament

A
  • elected every 5 years
  • uses ams
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14
Q

local elections

A
  • 4 year terms
  • uses fptp
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15
Q

uk parliament - house of commons

A
  • every 5 years
  • using fptp
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16
Q

london assembly

A
  • every 4 years
  • uses ams
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17
Q

london mayor elections

A
  • every 4 years
  • uses sv
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18
Q

police and crime commissioners election

A
  • every 4 years
  • uses sv
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19
Q

Welsh assembly

A
  • every 5 years
  • uses ams
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20
Q

Northern Ireland elections

A
  • every 5 years
  • uses stv
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21
Q

fptp is used for our general elections

A
  • after the fixed term parliament act (2011), this must happen every 5 years on a fixed date
  • however, if 2/3 of parliament agree an election can happen within this period as was the case in 2017 and 2019
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22
Q

geographical constituencies

A
  • there are 650 constituencies in the uk
  • these each contain roughly 70,000 people
  • one seat = one constituency
  • each party selects a candidate for their constituency and their names are listed on the ballot alphabetically, surname first
  • votes choose one member each and the winner gets their constituency
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23
Q

national level

A
  • the winning party in each constituency gets to be an MP
  • the party with a majority forms the government
  • if this isn’t reached, two parties can form a coalition or can form a minority government
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24
Q

four outcomes of fptp

A
  1. two party system
  2. winner’s bonus
  3. strong, single party government
  4. safe seats and swing seats
25
Q
  1. two party system
A
  • winner takes all
  • FPTP favours parties which can command a trainable concentration of support across a large geographical area
  • in 2015, Alasdair McDonnell (SDLP, NI) achieved 24.5% of the vote in his constituency (Belfast south) and won the seat
26
Q
  1. winner’s bonus
A
  • FPTP over rewards the winning party
  • eg in 2019, the conservatives got 43.6% of the vote but 56.2% of seats
  • regardless of the percentage of the vote they receive the winner of each seat gains the whole seat
  • therefore, whilst a party may win each seat with the plurality of the vote, by taking the whole seat, they are effectively over rewarded
27
Q
  1. strong, single party government
A
  • usually FPTP returns a single party with the majority of the seats
  • however, the last three elections (2010, 2015, 2017) have been unpredictable and has a lack of single party dominance
  • in 2015, the conservatives had a small majority but in the the other elections, they narrowly missed a majority yet managed to create a working government through coalition or confidence and support agreement
  • the outright majority typical to FPTP means there is the ability to form a strong/stable government, thus meaning that it can pass laws with relative ease and appear unlikely to face an unexpected election
28
Q
  1. safe seats and swing seats
A
  • as a result of the winner takes all aspect, a number of constituencies become safe seats, e.g. liverpool walton is a labour safe seat
  • meaning a particular party can almost guarantee victory in a particular seat (as a result of a concentration of loyal voters)
  • some seats are marginal/swing seats, making the outcome more difficult to determine, e.g kensingston
  • seats won with a lower percentage margin are swing seats and those won with a higher percentage margin are safe seats
29
Q

advantages of FPTP

A
  • simple and way to use system which most voters can understand
  • it is straight forward to organise and count up votes
  • the fact that it is harder for smaller parties to gain power means that extremist/dangerous parties and candidates get less opportunity to gain power
  • leads to a strong stable government and usually avoids coalitions which can be messy in terms of policy making
30
Q

disadvantages of FPTP

A
  • over represents large parties and doesn’t allow fair representation of smaller parties due to their low level, dispersed support
  • in some constituencies, more than half of the voters could have wanted an alternative winner
  • many votes are wasted as they don’t lead to any gain
  • the weak link between the number of seats and numbers of votes threatens popular legitimacy of the government once elected
31
Q

closed party list

A
  • proportional system
  • political parties compile a list of candidates to place before the electorate in descending order of preference
  • electorate vote for parties rather than candidates
  • if a party get 20% of the vote they get to pick 20 members from the list
  • used in European elections
32
Q

advantages of closed party list

A
  • parties are allocated seats in direct proportion to the votes they gain
  • much fairer
33
Q

disadvantages of closed party list

A

voters have no influence over which individual candidate is elected because seats are allocated to candidates based in their place on the party list, which is provided by the party

34
Q

additional members system

A
  • proportional system
  • used in devolved government elections in Scotland and wales
  • each constituent gets two votes, one for a party and one for the individual MP
35
Q

advantages of ams

A
  • the FPTP is simple and easy to understand
  • ensures constituents are represented
  • the part list element is used to achieve proportionality
  • split ticket voting: allows to vote for an MP (ie how good the individual is) and a party ideology which represents you
  • allows for more choice and nuance
  • retains the MP constituency link
36
Q

disadvantages of ams

A
  • more complex
  • easier for mistakes to be made and electoral fraud
  • more time consuming
  • coalitions are more likely
37
Q

advantages of stv

A
  • no wasted votes
  • most proportional system
38
Q

disadvantages of stv

A
  • ridiculously complex
  • very time consuming as it needs to be checked and verified
  • random element can be unfair
  • there is an element of luck as they use the last batch of votes
  • when a computer is used, it becomes even more complicated
39
Q

supplementary vote (sv)

A
  • if a candidate gets a majority they win outright
  • if not, the two highest candidates are still in
  • those who voted for the other candidates have their votes redistributed to their second/third choice until someone reaches a majority
  • majoritarian system
40
Q

advantages of sv

A
  • straightforward
  • less wasted votes
41
Q

disadvantages of sv

A
  • unproportional: if someone outright wins, the rest of the votes are wasted
  • can be unrepresentative
42
Q

problems posed by coalitions

A
  • the mandate
  • electoral accountability
43
Q

problem 1: the mandate

A
  • no one voted for a coalition government in 2010
  • both parties added manifesto promises in the coalition agreement which included a commitment to hold a referendum on the av electoral system that did not appear in the manifesto of either party
  • therefore, it is doubtful that a coalition government can claim the same democratic mandate as a party that wins an absolute majority in a general election
44
Q

electoral accountability

A
  • for policies developed in a coalition, voters can’t identify which party should be held responsible for them at the next election, especially if it had not featured in the manifesto of either party
  • both coalition parties have claimed credit for popular policies and blamed the other parties for the unpopular policies
45
Q

the 2010 coalition

A
  • had a minimal winning coalition (eg the fewest parties needed to reach an overall majority)
  • it had a healthy HoC majority and absorbed back bench rebellions
  • this was helped by the tendency of the conservatives and libs dem MPs to rebel of different issues
  • eg the Lib Dems rebelled on welfare matters and the conservatives rebelled on EU/constitution matters
  • eg 91 conservative MPs voted against HoL reform in June 2012
  • lords reform was a core issue for the Lib Dems so they dropped support for equalisation for sizes of constituencies ahead of the 2015 election
46
Q

examples of referendums

A
  • northern ireland (1998): good friday agreement, 72% voted yes, 80% turnout
  • UK (2011): replacement of FPTP with AV, 67.9% voted no, 42.2% turnout
  • north east england (2004): establishment of elected assembly for north east england, 78% voted no, 48% turnout
47
Q

the three nationwide referendums

A
  • AV vote
  • brexit
  • whether or not to leave the EEC in the 1970s
48
Q

12 of the 13 referendums held have related directly to

A

constitutional issues
- the distribution of power between super national, the EEC, national and sub national, devolved parliaments and institutions

49
Q

why should governments hold referendums

A
  1. to legitimise constitutional change
  2. increase participation
  3. to unite their political party
  4. to solve complex moral and ethical issues
50
Q
  1. to legitimise constitutional change
A
  • the majority of recent uk referendums have been for this reason
  • the constitution changes the way we are governed because such a change affects every action of the uk legislature
  • eg ceding more power to europe affects parliament’s ability to legislate on multiple areas
  • constitutional change is therefore, of supreme importance and a sharpened mandate is needed for this
  • if a government fears that a referendum is not going to give the government the result they wanted, they could avoid a referendum
  • eg labour’s 2005 manifesto had a proposed referendum in the constitutional treaty and they campaigned for a ‘yes’ but it was likely that the public would vote no
  • labour scrapped the referendum (it changed to the lisbon treaty in 2008 anyway)
51
Q
  1. increase participation
A
  • for many people, participation can begin and end with casting a vote in the general election
  • and in the five years between many people will leave political decisions to representatives and remain largely unaware of many of the important issues and debates that go in parliament
  • as referendums receive considerable media attention, the debates surrounding them can actually educate voters on political issues, exposing them to various arguments for and against political reforms to which they may have perhaps otherwise not paid any attention
  • more education = more participation
52
Q
  1. to unite their political party
A
  • when the labour government gave a referendum over uk membership in the EEC, they were deeply divided over it
  • 16 cabinet members wanted to remain in the EEC but 7 members wanted to leave
  • in 1975, the Labour Party conference member voted by 2 to 1 in favour of leaving the EEC in contestant with the party leaders
  • in the 1975 referendum, 67.23% of voters wanted to remain in the EEC with a turnout of 65%
  • brexit referendum: Cameron called it to placate the Conservative party members sympathising with ukip
  • undemocratic as its for the benefit of the party not the people
53
Q
  1. to solve complex moral or ethical issues
A
  • this can help where (eg) there is a tension between a secular government and strong religious feeling
  • eg 1998 portugal, to legalise abortion, defeated by 51%~49%
54
Q

referenda

A
  • are not legally binding
  • held at the will and discretion of the government
  • simple yes/no questions
55
Q

why we should have more referenda

A
  • the electorate became better informed in a single issue
  • provides an education on the issue for those who participate
  • FPTP does not allocate seats proportionately and the legislature is dominated by an over mighty executive, therefore our democracy needs supplementing
  • increased popular participation in decision making
  • may also be used to decide moral or local questions which can be quite contentious (common in the us)
  • allows major constitutional changes to be legitimised
56
Q

why should we not have more referenda

A
  • the outcome can be influenced by the wording of the question
  • eg the snp preferred ‘do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’, however the electoral commission suggested an alternative ‘should Scotland be an independent country’
  • tyranny of the majority
  • calling a referendum can be motivated by self interest
  • undermines parliamentary sovereignty
  • timing of campaigns can be used to manipulate the result
  • eg 2014 Scotland independence referendum was timed for just after the commonwealth games, a politically motivated decisions to ride a wave of nationalist feeling
  • turnout is poor, referendums can cause democratic overload or voter fatigue, low turnout undermined the legitimacy of results
  • only a yes or mo answer can be given
  • eg the 2011 av referendum didn’t offer a proportional alternative making it so that many weren’t offered a real choice (this was in the interest of the two main parties who didn’t want this)
57
Q

the criteria for a democratic election process

A
  • ensure representation
  • form government
  • ensure legitimacy
58
Q

advantages of majoritarian systems

A
  • MP - constituency link is retained
  • produces a strong and stable government
  • no need to change constituency boundaries
59
Q

disadvantages of majoritarian systems

A
  • sometimes less proportional than FPTP
  • votes are often wasted

uk politics (14 decks)

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