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Politics: UK Politics > 3.1 different electoral systems > Flashcards

3.1 different electoral systems Flashcards

1
Q

What is the most fundamental purpose of elections at all levels?

A

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

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2
Q

What are the functions of elections?

A
  • representation
  • choosing the government
  • holding a government to account
  • participation
  • influence over policy
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3
Q

What are MP’s said to be?

A

trustees - individuals in whom voters place their trust

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4
Q

How is the representative function complicated in the Westminster system?

A

pressure from party leadership to support an agreed line

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5
Q

What are voters doing at a general election?

A

choosing a government and granting it legitimacy

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6
Q

How is FPTP usually a straightforward matter when choosing a government?

A

the winning party normally commands a working majority of MPs, outnumbering all the other parties in the HoC put together

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7
Q

How many seats short of a majority were the conservatives in 2010 and what occurred after?

A

20 seats, and they entered a coalition with the Lib Dems

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8
Q

How many seats short of a majority were the conservatives in 2017 and what occurred after

A

8 seats, and they agreed an informal arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party

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9
Q

How often is there meant to be a general election?

A

every five years

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10
Q

What occurred after the revelations of abuse of parliamentary expenses in 2009 before the general election?

A

a number of MPs stood down rather than face the voters at the general election

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11
Q

What is the 2015 Recall of MPs Act?

A

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

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12
Q

How was the 2001 Labour manifesto misleading?

A

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

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13
Q

What message do election defeats send to parties?

A

not to persist with unpopular opinions

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14
Q

How did the catastrophic defeat in the 1983 general election lead to changes at Labour?

A

led the party leadership to gradually drop unpopular policies and move towards the centre ground

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15
Q

Why did other parties begin to emphasise the importance of countering climate change?

A

the increased public profile of the Green Party in the 1990s

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16
Q

How should different voting systems be judged?

A
  • 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
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17
Q

What elections use FPTP?

A
  • UK general elections
  • by-elections
  • local council elections in England and Wales
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18
Q

How does FPTP work?

A
  • 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
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19
Q

What happened in the 1951 and 1974 general elections due to FPTP?

A

the party forming the government secured fewer votes than the main opposition party

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20
Q

What is the 2022 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act?

A
  • 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
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21
Q

What did the 2022 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act replace?

A

2011 Fixed Term Parliament Act

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22
Q

What is average number of voters in a constituency?

A

70,000

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23
Q

How did the Scottish constituencies change in 2005?

A

the number was reduced from 72 to 59

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24
Q

Who regulates the size of constituencies?

A

Independent Boundary Commission

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25
Q

How many constituencies are there in the UK?

A

650

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26
Q

What number government want to reduce the number of constituencies to?

A

600

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27
Q

What are the main advantages of FPTP?

A
  • speed and simplicity
  • strong and stable government
  • exclusion of extremists
  • a strong link between MPs and their constituencies
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28
Q

How quickly is the result from an election using FPTP the post?

A

usually known early in the morning after polling day

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29
Q

How long did it take to form a government after the 2010 Belgium general election that uses a proportional system?

A

18 months

30
Q

What percentage of those who voted in the AV referendum voted to retain the use of FPTP?

A

68%

31
Q

What did the use of FPTP enable Margaret Thatcher to carry out in the 1980s?

A

her plans for the reduction of trade union power and privatisation

32
Q

What did the use of FPTP enable Tony Blair to carry out in the 1997?

A

undertake extensive constitutional reforms

33
Q

What do extremist parties do?

A

they may feed on racism, xenophobia and other extremist views

34
Q

What do MPs do in their constituencies?

A

handle correspondence from their constituents and hold surgeries at which they make themselves available to those seeking help and advice

35
Q

What are the main disadvantages of FPTP?

A
  • 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
36
Q

What was the lowest percentage of votes that produced a government?

A

2005, Tony Blair was re-elected on 35.2% of the vote

37
Q

What parties does FPTP favour?

A

parties whose vote is concentrated

38
Q

On average how many MPs from smaller parties were elected in each parliament between 1945 and 1970?

A

ten MPs

39
Q

On average how many MPs from smaller parties were elected in each parliament by 2015?

A

87 MPs

40
Q

How does FPTP limit voter choice?

A
  • there is no choice between individuals representing different shades of opinion within a party
  • prevalence of safe seats
41
Q

In the run-up to the 2015 general election how many seats did the Electoral Reform Society estimate were safe seats?

A

364 seats, 56% of the total

42
Q

What is an example of a safe seat?

A

Maidenhead in Berkshire, which has been conservative since 1885

43
Q

What is tactical voting?

A

voting not for their favourite but for the candidate most likely to prevent the party they dislike from winning

44
Q

In what constituency does a vote count more in?

A

a small one

45
Q

What is an example of a small constituency and how many votes does it take for an MP to be chosen?

A

Orkney and Shetland and 9407 votes

46
Q

What is an example of a large constituency and how many votes does it take for an MP to be chosen?

A

Isle of Wight and 28,591 votes

47
Q

How many votes were wasted in the 2015 election according to the Electoral Reform Society?

A

74.4% of votes cast

48
Q

How many votes were wasted in the 2010 election according to the Electoral Reform Society?

A

71.1%

49
Q
A
49
Q

What is an electoral desert?

A

areas of a country where one party cannot win seats

50
Q

What is an example of an electoral desert?

A

South-East England for labour

51
Q

What are examples of Labour heartland?

A

North-east England, Merseyside and South Wales

52
Q

What is the additional member system?

A

a hybrid or mixed system, combining elements of FPTP and proportional representation

53
Q

What is single transferable vote?

A

a form of proportional representation

54
Q

What is supplementary vote?

A

majoritarian, not proportional

55
Q

Where is additional member system (AMS) used?

A
  • the Scottish parliament
  • Welsh parliament
  • Greater London assembly
56
Q

How does AMS work?

A
  • 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
57
Q

How do seats work in the Scottish Parliament using AMS?

A

73 of the 129 members are elected in single-member constituencies
remaining 56 seats are filled by list members

58
Q

How do seats work in the Welsh Parliament using AMS?

A

40 of the 60 members represent single member constituencies with 20 list members

59
Q

How do seats work in the Greater London Assembly using AMS?

A

14 of the 25 members are elected in single-member constituencies
11 are top up members

59
Q

What are the main advantages of AMS?

A
  • 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
60
Q

What is a split ticket in AMS voting?

A

using the constituency vote to choose a representative from one party, and their top-up vote to support another party

61
Q

What are the main disadvantages of AMS?

A
  • 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
62
Q

Where is Single Transferable Vote (STV) used?

A
  • the Northern Ireland Assembly
  • Scottish council elections
63
Q

How does STV work?

A
  • 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
64
Q

How are the results calculated in a STV election?

A
  • 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
65
Q

What are the main advantages of STV?

A
  • 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
66
Q

What are the main disadvantages of STV?

A
  • 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
67
Q

Where used to use Supplementary vote (SV)?

A
  • mayoral elections
  • police and crime commissioners in England and Wales
68
Q

How does SV work?

A
  • 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
69
Q

What are the main advantages of SV?

A
  • ensures broad support for the winner
  • it is simple and straightforward to use
  • it has allowed some independent candidates to win
70
Q

What are the main disadvantages of SV?

A
  • 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

Politics: UK Politics (13 decks)

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