Elections and Referendums Flashcards

Question

Alternative Electoral Systems - Additional Member System (AVS)

Answer 1

The additional member system (AMS) is used to elect regional representatives to thedevolved bodies of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. It is a hybrid system: combining FPTP and a regional list system. Every voter has two votes: one for a constituency candidate and one from a choice of party lists. Under AMS in Scotland and Wales, 2/3 of the seats are elected using FPTP with the other 1/3 elected on the basis of closed regional list voting. Parties which do less well in the constituencies have their proportion of list votes adjusted upwards. Those who do proportionally well under FPTP (typically the SNP) have their votes adjusted downwards.

Answer 2

> Voters have two votes. They have more choice and the strong links between individual representatives and their constituencies remain. > AMS represents party support more accurately as the 'additional member' part redistributes seats to parties which perform less well in the FPTP vote. The most popular party has a realistic chance of securing a majority of seats to form an effective signle-party government. > Minority and under-represented groups have better representation as parties can place them higher up the closed regional lists.

Answer 3

> The system is more complex than simple FPTP as it involves formulae to translate votes to seats. > AMS often results in coalitions, but these tend to be stable. > Additional members do not have a specific constituency and therefore are not directly accountable to a set of electors - AMS creates two different types of representatives.

Answer 4

The decline of long-term factors The 'primacy' model suggests that longer-term factors are more important than short-term factors in deciding elections. Supporters of this view tend to see stability in electoral behaviour as opposed to volatility. The 'recency' model holds the view that voting patterns are more volatile and that the process such as embourgeoisement have led to class and partisan dealignment. Short-term factors are much more important, with as many as 10 million voters making up their minds in the last month of the general election campaign. Evidence of voting behaviour in many modern industrial nations points to a shift away from party voting of one kind to another. Voters, rather than following patterns that have pre-existed for decades, are much more rational in the way they cast their votes. Voters may reflect more objectively on the parties and their policies, and as floating voters are far more open to messages within the electoral campaign itself.

Answer 5

The rise of short-term factors. PARTY POLICIES Voters who reflect more carefully on party policies are more likely to be issue voting. Voters who are more rational in the way they cast their vote are less likely to feel constrained by long-term factors and are more likely to scrutinise the stance of the main parties over key issues that affect them - this is issue voting. > In the 2015 general election, issues at stake were focused on health, the economy and immigration. According to a YouGov poll in the month prior to the 2015 election, 50% of the public said that 'health' was one of the most important issues affecting the public. However, there appeared to be little choice for the voters, so the election yielded little overall change. PARTY LEADERS The UK system is different from most modern democratic states in that the political head of state is not directly elected by the people. The relative popularity of party leaders can have serious consequences for the party's electoral prospects. > Margaret Thatcher's authoritative leadership attracted significant numbers of voters to the Conservative Party in general elections between 1979 and 1987, especially in contrast to the unconventional Labour leader Michael Foot in 1983. > The popularity of Tony Blair swept many other Labour MPs into Parliament between 1997 and 2001, leading to Labour's tow landslide electoral victories. > The personal unpopularity of Nick Clegg in 2015 saw his Liberal Democrats reduced to a parliamentary party of just 8 MPs. > The perceived aloofness of Theresa May was exposed on the campaign trail in 2017 and floating voters - many of whom had backed UKIP drawn to the 'straight-talking' of Nigel Farage - did not uniformly back the Conservatives.

Answer 6

THE INFLUENCE OF THE MEDIA ON ELECTORAL OUTCOMES > The extent to which the broadcast media, and especially the BBC, are biased, seeking to trivialise radical issues or outsiders that challenge the status quo. > The extent to which traditional print journalism has been replaced by 'new' media channels of the internet and social media platforms - with the inherent risk of the wide consumption of unreliable (even 'fake') news. > The extent to which opinion polls - themselves increasingly unreliable in an age of greater voting volatility - shape opinion rather than reflecting it.

Answer 7

Are the 'traditional' media biased? Traditional mass media - especially television news corporations and conventional print journalism - are controlled by a narrow metropolitan elite, the broad objective being to encourage readers or watchers to preserve the established status quo, trivialising 'radical' issues and portraying policies 'alternative' to the mainstream in a negative light. In recent years, the BBC has been criticised for being left-leaning, pro-EU and anti-business. > On accusations that the BBC is left-leaning, research by Cardiff University found that while Labour and Conservatives do dominate political coverage, accounting for 86% of appearances in 2007 and 80% in 2012, the Conservatives actually get more airtime than Labour. > On accusations that the BBC is pro-EU, the research looked at 2007 in which the Lisbon Treaty dominaed agenda absorbing 70% of EU coverage, and in 2012 which focused on negotiations over ratifying the EU budget which accounted for 72% of EU coverage. In both cases, the debate was dominated by representatives of the two main parties and the EU was framed narrowly as a threat to British interests.

Answer 8

What has been the impact of the rise of 'new' media on electoral outcomes? > Social media facilitates direct contact between those seeking election and voters - bypassing traditional orthodox media channels and conventional advertising. In the 2017 general election, Labour's younger supporters had pre-built extensive support bases for blogs and social media accounts to utilise during the campaign to communicate pro-Corbyn coverage. > Social media allows key messages to go viral and reach even larger audiences - like-minded voters can share news, information and campaign events. > Use of social media 'analytics' enables messages to be tailored to audiences so that different genders, regions, or ages can receive slightly different messages. > The practical power of social media is significant - it has enabled many more obscure politicians to raise significant campaign funds, and for 'ordinary' voters to leverage substantial support to combat the dominance of traditional, moneyed interests. (However, unregulated and unreliable 'fake news' has become a recent phenomenon).

Answer 9

What are referendums and why are they used? A referendum is a vote on a single issue put before the electorate by the government, usually in the form of a question requiring a yes or no response. Referendums are held for a number of reasons: > To legitimise and entrench major constitutional changes. The UK's uncodified constitution and the principle of parliamentary sovereignty mean that Parliament has the power to make and unmake laws. A popular vote in support of an institution or policy effectively entrenches the decision. > To ensure public consultation. Some referendums arise from a genuine desire on the part of the government to engage or to enthuse the public for a scheme or significant change. > To put proposals on the electorate. Governments (or prospective governments if the referendum has a manifesto commitment) can steer clear of commiting to difficult policies that might alienate voters. The Conservative Party long pledged a referendum on the UK's relationship with the EU before commiting to it in 2016.

Answer 10

What did we learn about referendums from the 'Brexit' vote? The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) highlighted a key difference in the 'use' of referendums - supporting their use for the resolution of key constitutional differences but opposing what the Committee termed 'bluff call' referendums, when they are used to close down an unwanted debate, using the example of David Cameron's calling of the EU referendum.

Answer 11

> Referendums can 'bridge the gap' between elections. Major constitutional changes are effectively protected or 'entrenched' by referendum success. > Referendums provide a specific mandate for action. Local referendums can allow citizens to engage with important issues that affect them directly.

Answer 12

> Referendums are fundamentally at odds with representative democracy, under which decision making is handed over to elected representatives with greater expertise. Referendums are associated with a low turnout and they require the reduction of complex and intricate issues to a simple yes or no question. > They are expensive - the AV referendum in May 2011 cost over £75 million. > In keeping with Clement Attlee's claim that referendums are 'the devices of demagogues and dictators', governments decide whether to hold referendums and how the question will be framed to ensure the best possible outcome for them.