Election Systems/Voting

Question 1

What are the advantages of FPTP?

Answer 1

• It is quick and speedy
• It mostly creates single party majority governments
• It excludes fringe extremist parties
• It creates a strong link between MPs and constituents as there is one MP per constituency

Question 2

What are the disadvantages of FPTP?

Answer 2

• MPs and governments can be elected with a minority of votes e.g. in 2005 labour was re-elected with 35.2% of the vote
• Loss of proportionality of votes. FPTP favours larger parties with more concentrated votes and smaller parties often have the vote spread out across the country
• Limited voter choice. People are often forced to vote tactically as they know that the party they want to vote for will not win the seat
• Votes are of unequal value. In smaller constituencies votes count for more than those in larger constituencies

Question 3

What are the effects on elections that use proportional representation?

Answer 3

• Coalition and minority governments have become more common in the devolved governments across the U.K.
• Coalition governments in the assemblies tend to be strong and stable and last their full terms
• Parties often have to negotiate with each other and compromise more frequently than in Westminster
• In Northern Ireland STV means that Unionist and Nationalist communities are given equal representation

Question 4

What are some arguments for Referendums?

Answer 4

• They are a form of direct democracy
• They increase political participation and voter turnout
• Referendums can be a check on the ‘elected dictatorship’ during w governments term
• Referendums provide a clear answer to a question
• Referendums deal with the flaw in the mandate theory, as voters are given a clear voice
• The can provide a mandate for controversial policies
• Referendums legitimise importante constitutional issues such as devolution

Question 5

What are some arguments against Referendums?

Answer 5

• Referendums are inconsistent with the belief in parliamentary sovereignty
• Issues might be too complex for a more yes/no vote or for the public to understand
• The regular use of Referendums can result in ‘voter fatigue’
• There are effective alternatives: opinion polls and by-elections
• Low turnouts could distort results. Only 34% of voters voted in the London Mayoral referendum
• The results of a referendum may be too close and so not decisive enough
• Funding differences can affect results as they might not be an equal fight between the two sides
• Referendums May result in the ‘tyranny of the majority’

Question 6

What was Britain like in the run up to the 1979 general election?

Answer 6

• Britain’s economy was very weak and inflation was high
• 60% of workers were in the public sector and many industries were nationalised
• Strikes were frequent as public workers demanded higher pay, and Britain became the ‘sick man of Europe’
• Britain has just been through the 1978 winter of discontent
• The Government lost a vote of no confidence in 1979

Question 7

What were the parties policies and manifestoes in the 1979 general election?

Answer 7

• Both Labour and the Conservatives focused mainly on bringing down inflation
• Thatcher’s main proposal was to privatise some national industries and to remove some trade union powers. The Conservative manifesto was very vague
• Callahan was on the right of the Labour Party and so resisted the policies put forward by his parties left wing

Question 8

What were the parties like on the election campaign in 1979?

Answer 8

• Thatcher and the Torres were very media savvy and jumped on many photo opportunities. They employed the PR firm Sachii and Sachii to run the media side of their campaign
• Labour did not employ any media companies or tactics but were still 20 points ahead in the polls

Question 9

What was the result of the 1979 general election?

Answer 9

• Big swing to the Conservatives from the skilled working class C2 voters
• Swing to the tories most pronounced in London and the South East
• Swing to Labour in Scotland due to fall in SNP support
• Support for the National Front did not materialise as May were contempt with Thatcher
• Liberals held on to their seats even after the Thorpe Scandal
• The main reason for the Tories success was the winter of discontent

Question 10

What was the background to the 1997 general election?

Answer 10

• The Conservatives Had won in 1992 but were terrorised by the recession and black Wednesday
• Labour was led by John Smith in 1992 but after his death in 1994 Tony Blair became the leader
• Blair brought the party closer to the centre and got rid of clause IV
• The events of Black Friday allowed Labour to be seen as fiscally responsible
• The incumbent Conservative Government was in turmoil and very unpopular

Question 11

What were Labour’s 5 key pledges at the 1997 general election?

Answer 11

• Class sizes to be reduced to under 30 or under for 5, 6 and 7 year olds
• Fast track sentencing for persistent young offenders
• Cut NHS waiting times by investing another £100m
• Get 250,000 under 25s off benefits and into work
• No rise in income tax, keep inflation and interest rates low

Question 12

What were the outcomes of the 1997 general election?

Answer 12

• Largest majority since 1945 for any party
• Most seats ever won by Labour
• Lowest Tory share of the vote since 1832
• No Tory MPs in Wales or Scotland
• Highest Lib Dem / Liberal seat total since the 1920s
• All social groups saw big swings to Labour
• Most newspapers were behind Labour

Question 13

What was the background to the 2010 General election?

Answer 13

• Labour sought to gain a fourth consecutive term in office and regain lost support
• The Conservatives sought to regain a dominant position in British Politics after there losses in the 1990s
• The election was the first to have TV leaders debates
• The polls predicted nearly an equal share of the vote for all three major parties
• The prospect of a Coalition was also being considered by Gordon Brown and Labour civil Cervantes

Question 14

What was the outcome of the 2010 general election?

Answer 14

• Hung parliament
• Labour vote fell to 29%, their second lowest sing 1918
• The Conservatives couldn’t win a majority
• The greens won their first MP, Caroline Lucas in Brighton
• It was clear that the only viable option was a Conservative Lib-Dem Coalition
• It was the first peace time Coalition since the 1920s
• It was the first election where social media played a part