Elections and Democracy

Question 1

What is an Election?

Answer 1

• a competitive process where a designated group (electorate) select individuals to serve in specified positions
• members of legislatures and members of executive are chosen and held accountable through elections

Question 2

What are the functions of an election?

Answer 2

Representation- elections enable the electorate to select representatives to act on their behalf

Choosing a Government- general elections determine which party takes power

Participation - voting is the key act of political participation

Influence Over Policy- elections allow citizens to voice their policy preferences where parties issue manifestos outlining the policies they would introduce and the winning party produces a mandate

Accountability- government and MPs are held accountable and will be removed if the electorate are unhappy with their actions

Citizen Education - election campaigns provide citizens with information on major political issues and policies of the main parties enabling informed decisions

Legitimacy- elections give legitimacy to the winning party and political system

Elite Recruitment- political parties nominate candidates for election and provide them with campaign resources and in return expect loyalty

Question 3

Free and Fair Elections

Answer 3

• elections should be free, fair and competitive
• requires voters to make a meaningful choice between parties
• require basic civil liberties like freedom of speech and free press
• each citizen should have one vote that is equal to everyone else
• ’ one person, one vote, one value’
• electoral law should be free from bias and overseen by judiciary
• electoral system should translate votes into seats accurately

Question 4

Democratic vs Elitist beliefs

Answer 4

Democratic- prioritise role of the people in the political process and focus on the bottom-up functions like policy influence, participation and accountability where government acts in accordance with the peoples wishes

Elitist- elections provide authority and stability for the political system allowing elitists to get on with governing- highlight top-down functions like legitimacy and elite recruitment where the political elite decide the best interests for the people

Question 5

General Elections

Answer 5

• elect 650 MPs who make up HOC
• Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011 introduced 5 year terms
• PM must seek 2/3 majority in commons to trigger early election

Question 6

Elections to the Devolved Assemblies

Answer 6

• elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly are held every 5 years

Question 7

Local Elections

Answer 7

• local councillors elected for fixed 4 year terms
• in some authorities all councillors face the electorate at the same time but in others a proportion of members are elected each year
• some towns have directly elected mayors

Question 8

European Parliament Elections

Answer 8

• UK has elected Members of the European Parliament every 5 years since 1979
• UK no longer takes part since the referendum 2016 to leave EU

Question 9

By-elections

Answer 9

• a one off election that takes place in a constituency when a vacancy arises due to death or resignation of a member between scheduled elections

Question 10

Majoritarian System

Answer 10

• the winning candidate must secure an absolute majority of the votes cast in a single member constituency
• candidates usually elected in single member constituencies
• eg: FPTP system described as majoritarian

Question 11

Plurality System

Answer 11

• FPTP is a single member plurality system where the winner needs only plurality of votes cast not an absolute majority
• share characteristics of majoritarian systems
• MPs elected in single member constituencies and both systems are non proportional

Question 12

Proportional Representation

Answer 12

• covers many systems producing a close fit between voters and seats
• PR systems use multi-member constituencies
• some allow electors to vote for as many candidates as they wish whereas in order of preference some permit one single vote

The District Magnitude (the number of legislative seats per constituency) is crucial- the larger constituency the more proportional the result

Question 13

Mixed System

Answer 13

• a proportion of representatives are elected under a majoritarian/plurality system in single member constituencies and the others elected as ‘additional members’ using a proportional system in multi member constituencies