Elections and Electoral Systems Flashcards
what key instrument is used in the UK’s democracy
Elections are the key instrument to give people influence
what voting system is used in the UK
First Past The Post - most votes win
what does FPTP mean for election outcome
It means that a candidate does not need more than 50% of the votes just more than the other candidates. Parties need to actually gain a constituency to get seats in parliament, coming 2nd or 3rd all the time gets them nothing
examples of the winner takes all electoral system at work
- Fife North East, 2017 - SNP won with a 0.0% majority - the difference between the SNP winner and the 2nd party was just 2 votes
- In many constituencies like Liverpool Walton and Leeds Central, 1 party has so much support that it will win whatever happens because it is a safe seat - Hilary Benn has been MP for Leeds Central since 1999. Liverpool Walton - 2019 - 84.7% for Lab MP Dan Carden
types of seats FPTP creates
Safe seats
Marginal seats
what does safe seats mean for voters
The candidate doesn’t need a big margin to win the seat - people do not bother turning up which leads to wasted votes. Voters may not turn up to vote because everyone already knows the result which leads to lower turnout. In 2019, 3/4 of the 650 constituencies were considered safe seats with a winning margin of more than 10% in the previous election. So for 3/4th of the country, there was not much point in voting.
marginal seats
Not all seats are a close contest, those are called marginal seats. (Fife North East 2017). Sheffield Hallam 2019 - 34.7% for Labour, 33.4% for Lib Dems, 25.8% for tory
2019 election results
Tory - 43.6% - a majority of seats - 365.
SNP - 3.9% - 48 seats
Lib Dems - 11.6% - 14 seats!
Labour - 32.1% - 202 seats
Greens - 3% - 1 seat
what system is FPTP
Plurality system meaning the winner only needs to win the most votes, not necessarily a majority leading to disproportional outcomes,
what type of constituency is used in FPTP
Single member constituences
proportional representation
Large multi-member constituencies, where the amount of seats a party gets is proportional to the votes they get in that constituency. It translates the number of votes a party gets nationally accurately into seats in parliaments, it is fair and proportional
advantages of FPTP
- It is relatively simple to understand.
- FPTP tends to produce strong strong and stable governments.
- Strong link between MPs and constituents.
- Exclusion of extremists
advantages of FPTP - simplicity
It is relatively simple to understand. Other systems require voters to consider a list of candidates per party, rank candidates or vote more than once, with FPTP voters cast a single vote for their most preferred candidates. Counting is also relatively straightforward and the result is easy to calculate, it also produces a clear outcome at a national and constituency level, which makes understanding voting and how the election works straightforward
advantages of FPTP - strong govt
FPTP tends to produce strong and stable governments. It benefits larger parties and therefore often gives election results with one party with a clear majority in parliament. That party can form a stable and strong government - . There are rarely coalitions, which can be seen as less stable. - Cons- 2019, meaning they can pass laws for the good of the country without disruptions. However, coalitions are not unstable - 2010-15 coalition - NI has had 7 coalitions, though with various suspensions, coalitions also have advantages, parties working together, not always a clear majority with FPTP - 2010,2017. - Govt can be too strong and powerful - elective dictatorship
advantages of FPTP - representation
Strong link between MPs and constituents. With single-member constituencies, every citizen has one MP that represents them and they can contact with problems or for advice - helps participation. E.G MPs living near the trajectory of the HS2 rail line have been approached by constituents to oppose the project - However, representation is uequal - some MPs do not represent constituents as well - 120 MPs voting differently on Brexit than their constituents
advantages of FPTP - extremists
Exclusion of extremists - FPTP tends to favour two large mainstream parties and smaller parties do well less, That means smaller more ideologically extreme parties or racist and xenophobic parties have less chance. The BNP got half a million votes in 2010, but not a single MP. However, it can be seen as undemocratic to not have views of all groups in society represented.
disadvantages of FPTP
- Disadvantages smaller parties
- Produces safe seats
- Undemocratic results
Disadvantages of FPTP - smaller parties
FPTP disadvantages smaller parties, because it inflates the votes of larger parties and doesnt translate votes gotten to seats in the house of commons, This is unfair and undemocratic and leaves their voters underrepresented. UKIP 2015 - 13% of votes 1 seat. It creates a two-party system which favours big parties. However, it excludes extremists
disadvantages of FPTP - safe seats
FPTP tends to produce many safe seats which leads to low turnout. This makes our participation crisis even more, Leeds Central. However, there are many other reasons for a participation crisis, such as unrepresented parties and negative attitudes to politics - BJ party gate
disadvantages of FPTP - results
It produces undemocratic results. There is no direct proportional link between the number of votes a party receives nationally and the number of seats it gets - Lib Dems - 2019, it is also possible that one party receives more votes nationally but another receives more seats = which happened in 1951 - Atlee received 48.8% of the votes, which was 0.8% more than Churchill but Churchill won the most seats - 321, 26 more than Atlee. However, this is rare and most elections produce a fair winner - this should not be possible in a democracy - happened again in 1974, unlike PR it does not translate votes into seats proportionally - which is unrepresentative.
types of electoral system
FPTP
Alternative Vote
PR
Single Transferable vote
Additional Member System
alternative vote
It has single-member constituencies, just like FPTP. Instead of 1 cross for their preferred candidate, voters rank candidates. When votes are counted, the candidates finishing last are eliminated and their 2nd preferences are redistributed until one candidate has more than 50%, slightly more proportional than FPTP - failed not passed still a plurality system
Single Transferable Vote
Used for Northern Ireland Assemblies. It uses multi-member constituencies (17 constituencies of 6 members for the NI assembly). It is therefore a type of proportional representation. Like the AV, voters rank candidates according to their preferences, it also takes 2nd and other preferences into account, it is fairer to smaller parties and therefore represents all views in society better
Additional Member system
It is used in the scottish and Welsh parliament and the London Assembly. It is a hybrid or mixed system - a combination of FPTP and PR. Some members are elected through FPTP and others through PR. Voters have two votes - A FPTP vote for a constituency representative in SMC and a PR vote for several regional representatives in a larger multi-member regional constituency - which helps participation, unlike FPTP.
