3.1 different electoral systems Flashcards
What is the most fundamental purpose of elections at all levels?
to choose a representative to speak on behalf of a community and to provide a link between them and those who take decisions on there behalf
What are the functions of elections?
- representation
- choosing the government
- holding a government to account
- participation
- influence over policy
What are MP’s said to be?
trustees - individuals in whom voters place their trust
How is the representative function complicated in the Westminster system?
pressure from party leadership to support an agreed line
What are voters doing at a general election?
choosing a government and granting it legitimacy
How is FPTP usually a straightforward matter when choosing a government?
the winning party normally commands a working majority of MPs, outnumbering all the other parties in the HoC put together
How many seats short of a majority were the conservatives in 2010 and what occurred after?
20 seats, and they entered a coalition with the Lib Dems
How many seats short of a majority were the conservatives in 2017 and what occurred after
8 seats, and they agreed an informal arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party
How often is there meant to be a general election?
every five years
What occurred after the revelations of abuse of parliamentary expenses in 2009 before the general election?
a number of MPs stood down rather than face the voters at the general election
What is the 2015 Recall of MPs Act?
if an MP is sentenced to a prison sentence, or is suspended from the Commons for more than 21 days, a by-election is triggered if at least 10% of constituents sign a recall petition
How was the 2001 Labour manifesto misleading?
it stated that Labour would not introduce ‘top up’ fees for university tuition, but then after the election the Labour government decided to increase fees from their previous level of £1000 per annum
What message do election defeats send to parties?
not to persist with unpopular opinions
How did the catastrophic defeat in the 1983 general election lead to changes at Labour?
led the party leadership to gradually drop unpopular policies and move towards the centre ground
Why did other parties begin to emphasise the importance of countering climate change?
the increased public profile of the Green Party in the 1990s
How should different voting systems be judged?
- a fair result that gives equal value to peoples votes across the country
- a choice of candidates
- an effective link between the elected representative and the constituency
- a strong government that can pass laws but can be held to account by the electorate
What elections use FPTP?
- UK general elections
- by-elections
- local council elections in England and Wales
How does FPTP work?
- voters cast a single vote
- the person with the largest number of votes in a constituency is elected
- the winner does not need majority of votes cast
- the party with the largest number of seats has the right to form a government
What happened in the 1951 and 1974 general elections due to FPTP?
the party forming the government secured fewer votes than the main opposition party
What is the 2022 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act?
- made the maximum term of a Parliament (rather than the period between general elections) five years
- enables governments, within the life of a parliament, to call a general election at the time of their choosing
What did the 2022 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act replace?
2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act
What is average number of voters in a constituency?
70,000
How did the Scottish constituencies change in 2005?
the number was reduced from 72 to 59
Who regulates the size of constituencies?
Independent Boundary Commission
How many constituencies are there in the UK?
650
What number government want to reduce the number of constituencies to?
600
What are the main advantages of FPTP?
- speed and simplicity
- strong and stable government
- exclusion of extremists
- a strong link between MPs and their constituencies
How quickly is the result from an election using FPTP the post?
usually known early in the morning after polling day
How long did it take to form a government after the 2010 Belgium general election that uses a proportional system?
18 months
What percentage of those who voted in the AV referendum voted to retain the use of FPTP?
68%
What did the use of FPTP enable Margaret Thatcher to carry out in the 1980s?
her plans for the reduction of trade union power and privatisation
What did the use of FPTP enable Tony Blair to carry out in the 1997?
undertake extensive constitutional reforms
What do extremist parties do?
they may feed on racism, xenophobia and other extremist views
What do MPs do in their constituencies?
handle correspondence from their constituents and hold surgeries at which they make themselves available to those seeking help and advice
What are the main disadvantages of FPTP?
- MPs and governments can be elected on less than 50% of the vote
- lack of legitimacy
- lack of proportionality
- the winners bonus
- limited voter choice
- votes are of unequal value
What was the lowest percentage of votes that produced a government?
2005, Tony Blair was re-elected on 35.2% of the vote
What parties does FPTP favour?
parties whose vote is concentrated
On average how many MPs from smaller parties were elected in each parliament between 1945 and 1970?
ten MPs
On average how many MPs from smaller parties were elected in each parliament by 2015?
87 MPs
How does FPTP limit voter choice?
- there is no choice between individuals representing different shades of opinion within a party
- prevalence of safe seats
In the run-up to the 2015 general election how many seats did the Electoral Reform Society estimate were safe seats?
364 seats, 56% of the total
What is an example of a safe seat?
Maidenhead in Berkshire, which has been conservative since 1885
What is tactical voting?
voting not for their favourite but for the candidate most likely to prevent the party they dislike from winning
In what constituency does a vote count more in?
a small one
What is an example of a small constituency and how many votes does it take for an MP to be chosen?
Orkney and Shetland and 9407 votes
What is an example of a large constituency and how many votes does it take for an MP to be chosen?
Isle of Wight and 28,591 votes
How many votes were wasted in the 2015 election according to the Electoral Reform Society?
74.4% of votes cast
How many votes were wasted in the 2010 election according to the Electoral Reform Society?
71.1%
What is an electoral desert?
areas of a country where one party cannot win seats
What is an example of an electoral desert?
South-East England for labour
What are examples of Labour heartland?
North-east England, Merseyside and South Wales
What is the additional member system?
a hybrid or mixed system, combining elements of FPTP and proportional representation
What is single transferable vote?
a form of proportional representation
What is supplementary vote?
majoritarian, not proportional
Where is additional member system (AMS) used?
- the Scottish parliament
- Welsh parliament
- Greater London assembly
How does AMS work?
- voters have two votes, one for a constituency representative (elected using FPTP), and the other for a party list, which uses multi-member regional constituencies
- there a fewer list members than constituency representatives, and they are known as ‘additional’ or ‘top-up’ members
How do seats work in the Scottish Parliament using AMS?
73 of the 129 members are elected in single-member constituencies
remaining 56 seats are filled by list members
How do seats work in the Welsh Parliament using AMS?
40 of the 60 members represent single member constituencies with 20 list members
How do seats work in the Greater London Assembly using AMS?
14 of the 25 members are elected in single-member constituencies
11 are top up members
What are the main advantages of AMS?
- the top-up component introduces a proportional element
- FPTP element maintains a strong link between member and constituents
- electors have wider choice than under FPTP
What is a split ticket in AMS voting?
using the constituency vote to choose a representative from one party, and their top-up vote to support another party
What are the main disadvantages of AMS?
- it creates two different types of member (some with constituency responsibilities and some without)
- a closed list system is used, party leadership ranks candidates in order on the list - can use this power to limit dissident members chances of being elected
- smaller parties achieve less representation than under a fully proportional system
Where is Single Transferable Vote (STV) used?
- the Northern Ireland Assembly
- Scottish council elections
How does STV work?
- used multi-member constituencies
- voters number their choices preferentially
- in order to be elected, a candidate needs to achieve a quota, using the Droop formula which divides the number of votes cast by the number of seats contested plus one
How are the results calculated in a STV election?
- if a candidate reaches the quota on the first round of counting, they are elected and their second preferences are redistributed
- if no one attains the quota, the least popular candidate is eliminated and the second preferences of those who voted for this candidate are transferred
- the process continues till all seats are filled
What are the main advantages of STV?
- close correlation between votes and seats
- voter choice is high
- In NI it has created a power-sharing government that enables representatives of two rival communities (unionists + nationalists) to work together, ending 30 years of violent disturbance in NI
What are the main disadvantages of STV?
- it is not fully proportional
- in large multi-member constituencies, the link between the member and voters may be weak
- power-sharing governments may bring rival groups together but they are still prone to conflict
Where used to use Supplementary vote (SV)?
- mayoral elections
- police and crime commissioners in England and Wales
How does SV work?
- each voter is allowed a first and second preference vote
- any candidate who gains more than 50% of first preference votes is elected automatically
- if this does not occur, all candidates except the top two are eliminated, second preference votes for these two candidates are now added to produce one overall winner
What are the main advantages of SV?
- ensures broad support for the winner
- it is simple and straightforward to use
- it has allowed some independent candidates to win
What are the main disadvantages of SV?
- SV is not proportional as one individual is being elected to a single office
- the winner does not need to get an absolute majority of the votes cast
- voters need to be able to identify the likely top two candidates in order to have influence over the outcome, and this is not always clear
