3.3 - Electoral Systems Analysis

Question 1

Why are different electoral systems used in the UK?

Answer 1

• Pre 1997 – only electoral system in the UK was FPTP
• Blair’s reforms saw electoral reform in the devolved areas in accordance with his manifesto
• New Lab hoped to produce a party system that was most desirable in each devolved region – EG STV adopted in Ireland as it is a highly divided community

Question 2

Has introducing different election systems achieved its goal in WL and SC?

Answer 2

• In Scotland and Wales AMS was introduced to stop major party dominance in the devolved regions
• This has worked as the SNP have gained a large majority in Scotland and Labour has been unable to secure absolute dominance in Wales, though it is usually the majority party

Question 3

What do elections under FPTP usually lead to and how has this changed post 2010?

Answer 3

Elections under FPTP have been effective in producing strong stable govs up until 2010 – though this has changed in the last decade suggesting that the traditional link between FPTP and strong, stable, single party gov has been weakened

Question 4

What would happen if the UK were to adopt PR?

Answer 4

If the UK were to adopt PR, it would have to get used to multi-party gov and possibly unstable gov

Question 5

What was the outcome of the 2010 coalition gov?

Answer 5

• 2010 was an interesting experiment – while it was stable and lasted for five years with few major defeats in P, some argued that the LibDems did not have sufficient influence so gov was still dominated by one party
• Evidence that voters were unhappy with the coalition, or at least the LibDems, can be seen in that they voted out all but eight LibDems in the 2015 election
• After this it is unlikely that third parties will be keen to join coalitions

Question 6

What are the touted positives and negatives of PR being introduced into Westminster elections? (3)

Answer 6

• If PR were to be introduced, excessively powerful govs (EG Thatcher and Blair) would be tempered as PR would lead to more coalition govs where a gov would have to seek consensus on every issue
• Critics point to the instability this could produce, with examples from the unstable govs of European countries such as Italy and Germany
• Without a P majority, govs would be unable to deliver their electoral mandate

Question 7

What does FPTP show about the nature of third party support?

Answer 7

• Extent of true third party support also difficult to judge under FPTP – in 2017 post Brexit voters flooded back to the main two parties, whose combined vote share was 82.4%, the highest since 1970
• However, the weakness of the confidence and supply gov showed that this system can be weak in times of great national debate

Question 8

What has the recent trend been regarding support for smaller parties?

Answer 8

• General trend towards a decline in support for the two main parties and a rise in support for smaller parties such as SNP, UKIP, or Brexit
• Is the UK system now pluralistic, with many parties competing for political influence and voters choosing parties to suit their particular interests

Question 9

What did third party support do in 2017 and 2019?

Answer 9

• However, this trend was bucked in 2017 as voters returned to the two main parties (82.4% between them)
• Though this fell again in 2019 (75.7% between them) suggesting that 2017 may have been an anomaly

Question 10

What would the impact of introducing PR have on the UK party system?

Answer 10

• Introducing PR in the UK would lead to more of a multiparty system
• Smaller parties (EG Greens, LibDems, Plaid Cymru) would win more seats while the two main parties win less seats
• For some this is desirable as it would be more pluralistic and more representative of the wishes of the people
• On the other hand it might give an opening to extremist parties and possibly create a chaotic political system with too many competing parties

Question 11

What does the current FPTP system lead to in terms of voter choice?

Answer 11

As things stand, voters tend to be forced into supporting the two main parties because any other vote would be wasted, or forced to vote tactically

Question 12

How would voter choice change under PR and what are the arguments between PR supporters and FPTP supporters?

Answer 12

• Under PR every vote counts and the need to vote tactically is reduced
• Critics of PR say that more proportional systems are more difficult to understand and that the loss of the close MP-constituency bond would be a blow for democracy
• Supporters of PR see the debate as democracy vs over-powerful gov – equality vs discrimination
• Supporters of FPTP view the debate as order vs chaos and strong gov vs weak gov
• Overall it is hard to tell how voters feel about electoral reform as it is very rarely discussed

Question 13

What role did the 2011 AV referendum play in showing voter attitudes towards electoral reform?

Answer 13

• The 2011 AV referendum offers some evidence towards the fact that the British public don’t want electoral reform (67.9% no)
• Though there are several mitigating factors as to why the public rejected this

Question 14

What are the mitigating factors that could help explain the result of the 2011 AV referendum? (4)

Answer 14

• It was proposed by the LibDems who were thoroughly unpopular at that time – many voters used the referendum to show their dissatisfaction with the party
• AV is a complex system so many voters didn’t understand it and rejected it on these grounds
• The pro-reform campaign was poorly run while the anti-reform campaign was well run and well funded
• FPTP was working well at this point – the relative political chaos post 2016 hadn’t happened yet so there was not need to change