3.1Different electoral systems (EOY)

Question 1

what is the most fundamental purpose of elections?

Answer 1

• representation, a representative is chosen at local, national, and regional areas to provide a link between them and who makes decisions on their behalf

Question 2

who represents a constituency

Answer 2

• an MP, each 650 constituency has one mp who represents them at parliament

Question 3

how is a government chosen?

Answer 3

• every 5 years at a general election
  -0 could be done at a snap election, eg Rishi Sunak called a snap election for this coming July 4th
• the leader of the party which wins the most number of seats will form a government

Question 4

how is a government held to account for failures?

Answer 4

• usually every 5 years the government has to face an electorate at a general election in order to renew its mandate to govern

Question 5

how do parties prepare for elections

Answer 5

• they have a party manifesto to try to convince people to vote for them however they aren’t always trustworthy
• eg: 2001 labour manifesto said ‘‘we will not introduce top up fees and have legislation to prevent them’ but increased them by 1k per year

Question 6

what is the first past the post system

Answer 6

• ## FPTP is a simple plurality system, voters cast a single vote

Question 7

what are the advantages of the FPTP system

Answer 7

• its quick and simple: result is usually known the next day and the government will be formed rapidly, proportional systems are less decisive than FPTP, eg Belgium took 18 months in 2010 to form a gov after a general election
• 68% chose to keep FPTP in a referendum in 2011 instead of getting the AV
• will result in a strong and stable gov: usually a 2-party system which gives voters a clear choice
• exclusion of extremists, UKIP which is a far right party git 3.9 million votes in 2015 but ended up with 1 seat
• helps provide a strong link between MPs and their constituencies

Question 8

disadvantages of FPTP

Answer 8

• MPs and gov can be elected without reaching a majority: Tony Blair won with 32.5%, voters may argue the system then lacks legitimacy
• lack of proportionality: UKIP eg
• limits the voters choice: each party only puts forward one candidate
• safe seats means that a voter may not see their preferred candidate win reducing voter turnout
• votes are also of unequal value, in a smaller constituency a vote can count for more than out would in a larger constituency

Question 9

what is the additional member system

Answer 9

its a hybrid or mixed system combining elements of PR and FPTP

Question 10

what is the single transferable vote

Answer 10

it is a form of proportional representation

Question 11

what is the supplementary vote

Answer 11

it is majoritarian rather than proportional

Question 12

where is the additional member system used

Answer 12

it is used in Scottish parliament, the welsh assembly ad the Greater London assembly

Question 13

how does the additional member system work

Answer 13

• voters have 2 votes, first for a constituency representative who’s elected using FPTP
• second is for a party list and uses multi member regional constituencies introducing an element of PR

Question 14

advantages of the additional member system

Answer 14

• it introduces a proportional element
• calculation is made using the d’hondt formula to determine how many members a party should be allocated from a list.
• Scottish Conservative party won no seats in 1997 using FPTP but AMS enabled them to win 18 seats in 1999

Question 15

disadvantages of the additional member system

Answer 15

• creates 2 different type of members, some with constituency responsibilities and some without
• it uses a close list system which means dissident members of party have a smaller chance of being elected

Question 16

how does the single transferable vote work?

Answer 16

• it uses multi member constituencies
• voters number their choices preferably, 1,2,3 etc
• to be elected the candidate needs to meet the quota, droop formula : divides number of votes cast by the number of seats contested +1

Question 17

what are the advantages of the single transferral vote

Answer 17

• close correlation between seats and votes
• voter choice is high, can choose between candidates in same party
• Northern Ireland has created a power sharing government enabling the unionists and nationalists to work together to help end years of violence disturbance

Question 18

what are the disadvantages of the single transferable vote

Answer 18

• it isn’t fully proportional, particularly where smaller multi-member constituencies are used
• in large multi-member constituencies the link between the member and voter may be weak
• in Northern Ireland, the groups brought together by STV are still prone to conflict. eg: NI executive was suspended in the early years, 2002-2007 for a lack of trust between the groups

Question 19

where is the single transferable vote used?

Answer 19

• Northern Ireland assembly
• European parliament election in NI
• Scottish council elections

Question 20

where is the supplementary vote used?

Answer 20

• elections for mayors eg: London mayor
• police and crime commissioners in England and Wales

Question 21

how does the supplementary vote work

Answer 21

• each voter gets a first and second preference vote
• a candidate who gains majority Is elected (50%)
• if no one reaches a majority, voters choose on the top 2 candidates and all others are eliminated

Question 22

advantages of the supplementary vote

Answer 22

• simple and straightforward to use, easy for voters to undertstnd
• ensures broad support for the winner, eg Sadiq khan

Question 23

disadvantages of the supplementary vote?

Answer 23

• not proportional as one person is being elected to a single office
• winner doesn’t need an apsoulute majority of voters cast