3.1, 3.3- electoral systems Flashcards
Give an example of when a minority party was under-represented in a general election
- 2019 lib dems got 11.5% of the votes and 1.7% of the seats
- in 2015, the Greens got 3.8% of the vote and 0.2% of the seats
compare the 2019 and 2021 results in Scotland to show the impact of concentrated support
- 2019 SNP got 45% of the vote and 81% of the seats
- 2021 SNP got 44% of the vote and just under 50% of the seats
What percentage of seats are safe seats
56% of seats
turnout in 2001
59% turnout
in 2019 what % of votes were for a losing candidate
56.3%
What was the turnout in Manchester Central in 2019
55.1%
give examples where FPTP has been unable to deliver a strong majority
2017- confidence and supply between conc and DUP
2010- coalition between lib dems and conc
in 2019 what % of voters voted tactically? - you gov poll
32% of voters voted tactically
how likely is further electoral reform?
- unlikely to be supported by the two main parties because it benifits them
what were the results of the 2011 AV referendum?
- 32% of voters, voted for the implementation of AV
- on a 42% turnout
what is the criteria by which to judge electoral systems?
- voter choice
- representation
- strength of the link between voter and representative
- type government that results
- complexity
what are the benifits of FPTP?
- very simlistic and allows governments to form very quickly
- produces single party governments, two party government provides clear choice
- 2 party system provides a clear alternative ensuring accountability
- exclusion of extremist parties (lack of concentrated support)
- strong MP constituency link
how long did it take after the 2007 scottish parliament election to form a government? how does this compare to FPTP
- it took 2 weeks
- after the 1997 election, Tony Blair was in downing street at 1 pm the day after polling day
give two examples of governments who were able to implement significant change due to the strong mandate provided by FPTP.
- Thatcher (taxation and deregulation) and Tony Blair (constitutional reform)
Give an example of a right wing party who have struggled to gain support under FPTP and compare this to a country with a more proportional system (germany).
- UKIP consistently fails to get seats
- AFD (alternative for germany), on a simiar point of the politcal spectrum has found success under a more proportional system
how may seats did the brexit party win in the 2019 European parliament elections?
29 seats, most seats of any party
what are the key disadvantages under FPTP?
- lack of representation in constituencies: only requires a plurality
- lack of representation on a national level: rewards concentrated support, wasted votes due to lack of reallocation, winners bonus
- limited voter choice: no ranking and two party system/ tactical voting
- votes are of different value due to safe and marginal seats, lack of focus on safe seats
- strong govts lead to an ‘elective dictatorship’
give an example of an mp winning their constituency with a very low vote share.
- 2015
- the mp for belfast south (alasdair macdonnel) won the constituency with
- 24.5% of the vote
how does AMS ensure better representation?
- uses a second ‘party list vote’ to correct the disproportionality of the intial FPTP vote- representation at a national level
- increased choice as individuals get to case two ballots
what are the benifits of AMS?
- maintains the MP constituency link
- greater voter choice, two votes
- less tactical voting
- party list ensures proportionality
what are the costs of AMS?
- creates two different types of member, some with constituencies some without - not all members have an MP constituency link
- a closed list system is used for the party list, this gives too much power to party leaders
- in smaller areas AMS is less proportional due to insufficient top up seats (20 in waleas)
- more minority and coalition governments
how many governments, since the scottish parliament was created have been majority governments?
- 1 out of the 6 governments was a majority
what are the advantages of STV?
- most proportional system
- most voter choice, due to ranking, they are able to choose between different parties and members within parties
- created power sharing governments in northern ireland, helped to create a peace
- link is less important as MPs represent communities more than geographical areas
- MPs work harder for votes in safe seats
what are the disadvantages of STV?
- weaker member constituency link (5 members)
- more power sharing
- counting and understanding votes is complex
In 2007 in Scotland, how many ballots were filled out incorrectly?
146,000
what was the turnout in the 2021 welsh parliament elections?
46.6%
how did jeremy hunt argue the benifits of a strong mp constituency link?
- “holds ones feet over the fire”
how did the swing in conservative vote share compare to their swing in seats in 2019?
- 1.2% incease in votes
- 48 more seats
what % of the vote did the conservative govt have in 2015?
35%
give a recent example of the instability of coalitions.
- break down of the SNP - green coalition
- greens criticizes the SNP abandoning climate targets
