Elections Flashcards
How many MPs are in the HoC?
650
How long are the fixed terms?
5 years (under fixed-term Parliament Act- set to be repealed)
Who can vote?
-UK citizens
-Citizens of Commonwealth Countries
-Citizens of Irish Republic
That are normally resident in the UK
And on electoral register in the UK
-18 and over
-Not disqualified
Who can’t vote?
- Peers entitles to sit in HoL
- Foreign Nationals
- Patients detained under mental health legislation for crimes
- People detained in prison
- People convicted of ‘corrupt’ or ‘illegal’ practices during last five years
Who can stand as a candidate?
- Must be eligible on both the last day for nominations and on polling day
- At least 18
- British citizen- or a qualifying citizen of a Commonwealth country- or citizen of Irish Republic
- Normally resident in the UK
- Citizens of other EU member states aren’t eligible
What were the key issues is the 2019 election? (local and national)
- Brexit
- Funding for the north
- NHS
- Public Services
- Welfare
- The economy
- Anti-Semitism
- Islamaphobia?
What were the Tory’s view on Brexit?
- “Get Brexit Done”
- Claim they are only party to resolve issue
- “Pact” Brexit Party
What was Labour’s view on Brexit?
- Labour wants to broaden issues
- Positioned as only party that can avoid No Deal
- 2nd referendum
- Softer Brexit or Remain
What was the Brexit Party’s views on Brexit?
- Want “clean break” Brexit
- Opposed to Johnson deal
- Pledged to contest every seat- but since U-Turned
- Didn’t stand in 317 Tory seats
What were the Lib Dems’ views on Brexit?
- Positioned as THE anti-Brexit Party
- Revoke and Remain
- Only party that would cancel Brexit
What were the big stories of the election?
- Campaign launches
- Policy announcements
- Rees-Mogg Grenfell comments
- Doctored/edited Piers Morgan interview
- Tom Watson stands down as Labour MP
- Former Labour MP Ian Austin says Corbyn isn’t fit to be PM
- Brexit Party pulls out of 317 Tory seats
- Labour data hack
What are some of the campaign strategies?
- Target marginal seats
- Pacts and deals- parties agreeing to not stand in some areas
- Tactical voting- support someone over their preferred choice, who is more favoured to win against their least favourite candidate
Who is the returning officer?
- Person with overall responsibility for the conduct of elections
- Officer of the council who is appointed under the 1983 Representation of the People Act
What are election agents?
- Legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate’s political campaign
- In the UK candidates can be their own election agent
What is the first past the post system?
- 650 constituencies- each represented by one MP
- Candidate receiving the most votes are elected as the MP for that constituency
- Majority in HoC is measured in seats
- Any party gaining an absolute majority of MPs become the gov
How do local council elections work in England?
Use FPTP system
How are councillors in Scotland and NI elected?
Proportional representation
What is proportional representation?
When the number of seats in parliament or council reflects the proportion of votes cast
What are the ups and downs of proportional representation?
- It’s argued this is more democratic
- But it’s also more likely to lead to hung parliaments and coalitions
What is the Regional List System? (d’Hondt)
-Country divided into large regional multi-member constituencies
-Each party has a list of candidates
-Constituents vote for the party-
-Seats distributed according to support for party
Eg in a 10-member constituency if the Tories got 40% of the vote, they would get 4 seats and if Labour got 30%, they would return 3
What is Single Transferable Vote? (STC)
- Voters rank candidates in larger constituencies, which return a few members (often 3)
- This is usually the preferred system for those campaigning for electoral reform ie Electoral Reform Society
Where is STC used?
- All elections in NI- except to HoC
- Also used in Scotland’s local council
What is the Supplementary Vote System?
- Vote for 1st and 2nd choice
- If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote s/he is elected
- If no candidate gets more than 50% there is a run-off between the two candidates with the most votes
- All other candidates are eliminated, and their 2nd preferences are distributed between the top two
What is the Additional Member System?
Have two votes- one for single-member constituency, elected on FPTP system, and a vote for an ‘assembly-wide’ party representative, elected personally
What does the Representation of the People Act say?
- It’s legal to publish a false statement of fact about a candidate’s character to swing an election
- It’s illegal to knowingly falsely state that a candidate has withdrawn from an election
- BUT it is not illegal to make a false statement of fact about a candidate’s policies
