Elections and Referendums Flashcards
What are the different types of UK election?
General election, council election, mayoral elections, police and crime commissioner elections, By elections, Devolved elections.
What are the functions of elections?
Representation, Choosing a government, Participation, Influence over policy, Accountability, Citizen education, legitimacy.
How does first past the post work?
Each person gets one vote, this is for a person to represent their constituency, the person with the most votes becomes the constituency MP, the party with the most MP’s forms a government.
What are the advantages of FPTP?
Simplicity, Clear outcome, strong and stable government, effective representation, keeps out extremist parties.
What are the disadvantages of FPTP?
Disproportionate outcomes, electoral deserts, plurality rather than majority support. Votes have unequal value, limited choice, divisive politics.
What are the features of the FPTP system?
Constituencies, Safe seats, two party system, winner’s bonus, bias to a major party, discrimination against smaller parties, single party government.
How does FPTP ensure constituencies?
FPTP means that everyone in the country is represented by a local MP, who represents their views in parliament.
How does FPTP create safe seats and marginal seats?
Turnout is likely to be higher in marginal seats, as people feel their vote is more likely to make a difference.
How does FPTP produce a two party system?
The two largest parties are favoured by the system, as there’s not seen to be much choice.
How does FPTP create a winner’s bonus?
It means that votes are more ‘efficient’ in some places than others, so parties can win more seats with less votes.
How does FPTP discriminate against smaller parties?
FPTP means that even if lots of parties get lots of votes, if they’re spread across the country, it doesn’t mean anything.
Why is FPTP a plurality system?
The winning candidate doesn’t need 50% to win an election.
What is a majoritarian system?
A system where you win a seat by winning a majority of votes.
What is proportional representation?
% of votes is equal to % of seats in parliament.
What is AMS?
It’s used to elect devolved parliaments, and every voter has two votes, one for a local representative, and one for a local representative, and one for a regional representative.
Which two voting systems does AMS combine?
Proportional Representation and a closed list system.
What does a closed list system use?
multi-member constituencies, meaning there are several seats to be filled in one region, so seats are divided.
What does AMS tend to produce?
Coalition governments, as the system is designed to ensure one party doesn’t win a majority, due to the D’hondt formula.
How is AMS not entirely proportional?
In the 2021 Scottish parliament elections, the SNP won 40% of the regional vote, but only 2 of 73 seats.
Why does AMS not maintain a strong link between constituents and representatives?
It’s unclear who is representing constituents.
What is the evidence to suggest the UK is restricted by the use of FPTP?
It doesn’t allow full use of proportionality, as results nationally don’t always reflect local issues.
What is the evidence the UK is served well by FPTP?
Allows constituents to have a clear idea of who represents them.
What is Supplementary Vote used for?
To elect the London Mayor, and police and crime commissioners.
How does SV work?
In the first round, voters vote for who they really want. In the second round, they vote for who they think is most likely to win.
Why is SV a majoritarian system?
It allows the two largest parties to remain the two largest parties.
What are the advantages of SV?
Ensures candidates have a wider level of support than FPTP. More freedom to represent voters’ choice, avoids vote splitting.
What are the disadvantages of SV?
Limited preference, complex for voters to understand, doesn’t eliminate wasted votes.
Why would it be hard to implement SV nationally?
Due to by elections.
What is a referendum?
A direct vote on a specific issue, with a direct question. They’re different to elections, as you vote for a policy, and there is no party alignment.
Why is turnout usually higher at referendums?
There is a clear choice for voters.
What have the three nationwide referendums been since 1975?
The UK joining the EU, AV referendum, The UK leaving the EU.
What have the regional referendums been since 1973?
Northern Ireland remaining in the UK, Scotland and wales devolution, Good Friday agreement, Greater London authority creation, North East of England devolution, welsh assembly powers, Scottish independence.
What are the advantages of referendums?
Campaigns encourage voters to debate, promotes participation, offers a direct link between policy making and the will of the people, absorbs decisions within parties.
What are the disadvantages of referendums?
They don’t allow voters to make detailed decisions, representative democracy is weakened, some issues may not be fully understood, debate can become bitter.
What is voting behaviour?
The analysis of why people vote the way they do.
How do referendums strengthen democracy?
Encourage participation, check the power of government, educate the electorate on key issues, restore faith in the democratic process, legitimise important constitutional changes.
What are the ways in which referendums have undermined democracy?
The decision to call a referendum is called by the government, quality of debate on some issues is poor, people may vote for the wrong reasons, they could be used to rubber stamp decisions which have already been made.
What regulations are there in a referendum?
Regulations on spending, wording, conduct and participation.
Which factors affect voting behaviour?
Personality of a candidate or leader, manifesto, media influence, ethnicity, age, personal views, performance of current government, nature of the electoral system.
Which two models aim to explain voting behaviour?
The primacy model, and the recency model.
What is the role of the primacy model?
Emphasises long term factors, such as social class, age, and ethnicity.
What is the role of the recency model?
Emphasises the importance of short term factors such as leadership.
How does Geography affect voting behaviour?
Conservatives do well in areas which are predominantly white, rural, suburban and socially conservative. The labour party do well in metropolitan areas in south wales, the north, and London.
Which counties typically vote for which party?
Scotland - Currently SNP, formerly Labour. Wales - Labour. Northern Ireland, Split between unionist and nationalist parties. London - Labour. Rural England - Conservative. Industrial North - Historically Labour, recently conservative. Home counties - Conservative.
How does Class affect voting?
A, B, and C1 would mainly vote conservative. C2, D, E would mainly vote labour.
What do AB voters most likely have?
Higher levels of education, their own home, higher incomes, management based careers.
What do DE voters most likely have?
Lower levels of education, Rented or state subsidised accommodation. Lower than average incomes. Physical professions.
How does gender affect voting behaviour?
Women are more likely to vote labour, men are more likely to vote conservative. Women are more likely than men to vote for Greens and Lib Dems.
How does age affect voting behaviour?
Younger voters are more likely to vote for labour, the green party, and the lib Dems.
What age does Labour-Conservative crossover happen?
39.
How does ethnicity affect voting behavour?
White voters are more likely to lean to the right, BAME voters are more likely to lean to the left.
What is rational choice theory?
Assumes that voters will make a logical judgement based on who will best represent their interests.
What is issue voting?
Voters place one issue above all others, and cast their vote based on that issue.
What are valence issues?
Voters making a decision based on who is best able to deliver a desired outcome, and have competency.
What is social voting?
People being influenced by their shared membership of a group, casting votes in solidarity.
What does social voting allow?
Political parties to tailor policies towards certain groups.
What is individual voting?
People cast their vote based on individual preference. People voting based on what is best for them, rather than what’s best for others.
What does individual voting do for political parties?
Makes it harder for political parties to aggregate public opinion.
What is class dealignment?
Class has recently become more difficult to determine, so is less significant to voters.
What is Partisan Dealignment?
Parties have become less class based, so voters are more like consumers, and will look for which parties offer the best policies.
What are floating voters?
Voters have become less faithful to a single party, and are more likely to be wooed, and switch their vote.
What is identity politics?
Campaigning around someone’s identity, which has complicated the way we categorise individuals in society.
What was the context of the 1983 election?
There was rising unemployment, due to deindustrialisation, which was unpopular with traditional working class communities.
What were the results of the 1983 election?
Conservatives - 397 seats. Labour - 209 seats. SDP-Liberal Alliance - 23 seats. Others - 21 seats.
What was part of the reason for the conservative win?
A divided opposition - due to the split of the labour party.
What had happened to the labour party under Michael Foot?
It became more left wing.
What was the role of the media in the 1983 election?
Right wing media started a ‘maggie cult’ , encouraging people to vote for Thatcher. Left wing newspapers accounted for 22% of media circulation, meaning people weren’t as exposed to left wing propaganda.
What was the difference between Thatcher’s and Foot’s media styles?
Thatcher had a strong media presence, Foot was less effective, and wasn’t good at delivering speeches.
What were the policies of Labour in 1983?
Abolish the House of Lords, nuclear disarmament, leaving the European community.
Why were Labour seen as unpatriotic?
Due to their lack of support of the Falklands war.
What did the Conservative manifesto include in 1983?
Trade union reform, Privatisation, Business centric policies, more focus on defence, economic prosperity, tax cuts.
What was an economic factor in the conservatives’ success?
The fact that the public would be able to buy shares in newly privatised companies.
What was the campaign of the conservative party centred around?
It was crafted to be personal, making voters feel something towards the PM. A tv documentary was filmed about Thatcher, which was crafted around her being a strong, patriotic leader.
What was the labour campaign centred around?
A ‘secret manifesto’ in which they said the conservatives had lied about the trend of unemployment.
What was the presentation of Labour’s policy like?
Unorganised, contradictory, incompetent, unpatrotic.
What was the context of the 1997 election?
The conservative party was deeply unpopular, as it was divided over Europe, became a minority government, a recession, and a rise in unemployment. The Labour party led by over 20% in the polls since 1992.
What were the results of the 1997 election?
Labour - 418 seats. Conservative - 165 seats. Lib Dems - 46 seats. Other - 30 seats.
How much did the Conservatives’ vote share go down by?
14.1%.
What was the role of the media in the 1997 election?
Several newspapers switched alliances from the conservatives to labour, as they saw labour as the most likely to win. Blair met the owner of the sun in 1995.
What were the labour party’s policies in 1997?
Centralised state, surestart, tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime, devolution, human rights, modernisation, minimum wage.
What were Labour’s policies seen as?
Fresh and New.
What had the conservatives suffered from?
Sleaze.
What did the conservative manifesto include?
More academic selection, publish exam results, no constitutional change, get tough on law and order, crackdown on benefit fraud.
What was labour’s campaign seen as?
Well managed, focused on spin to maintain the image of Tony Blair, making the campaign more presidential.
How did Blair’s campaign appeal to young voters?
Featured a song ‘things can only get better,’ Blair was seen as young himself.
How were traditional labour voters wooed by the manifesto?
Encouraged by John Prescott, Deputy leader, who didn’t go to university.
Why was the conservative party seen as split?
Split over Europe, Major was seen as a weak leader. There was a leadership election in 1995.
What was the conservative campaign centred around?
The negativity of Blair, rather than positivity of Major. A poster was created saying ‘new labour, new danger’ However, the conservatives had to withdraw it.
What was the context of the 2019 election?
There had already been a general election 2 years earlier, which produced a conservative minority government.
What were voters becoming frustrated with?
The continuous extension of the date on which we were supposed to leave the EU.
What were the results of the 2019 election?
Conservatives - 365 seats. Labour - 202 seats. Lib Dems - 11 seats. SNP - 48 seats. Green - 1 seat. Others - 23 seats.
Where did the labour party lose many seats?
The North, and the Midlands.
What did some areas align voting choice with?
How they voted in the Brexit referendum.
How has the style of media changed since 1997?
The press still plays a part, but a lot of campaigning is done online.
How was social media spending reflected in votes?
Labour spent over half a million more than the conservatives on social media campaigning, and over 60% of young people voted labour.
What were the conservative’s policies in 2019?
Get Brexit done, unleash Britain’s potential. No rise in VAT, income tax, or National insurance.
What did the Labour party promise in their campaign?
A second referendum on Brexit, and an increase in Health spending, and nationalisation of key industries.
What did the Liberal Democrats put in their manifesto?
Stop Brexit, 35 hours of free childcare, £10 billion extra for schools.
What was wrong with the labour campaign?
It wasn’t well run, Corbyn was perceived as metropolitan because of his background. The list of target seats wasn’t well put together, and Corbyn was seen as weak.
What was the conservative campaign focused on?
Brexit, and the personality of Boris Johnson. All candidates were united, and Johnson had many photo opportunities.
What was the discrepancy between votes and seats in 1983?
Labour received 2% more votes than the SDP-Liberal alliance, but received 209 seats, and the SDP-Liberal alliance won 23.
What were vote discrepancies in 1997?
Labour received 20% more seats than votes. Conservatives received 5% less seats than votes. Liberal Democrats received 9.8% less seats than votes.
What were the vote discrepancies in 2019?
Conservatives received 12.6% more seats than votes. Labour received 1% less seats than votes. Liberal Democrats received 9.8% less seats than votes. SNP received 36% more seats than votes.
What was unique about southern England in 1983?
It showed a strong swing away from labour, as they only won 2/110 seats.
What was unique about southern England in 1997?
Showed a strong showing away from the conservatives, as well as Scotland, where the conservatives lost all their seats.
What was unique about the North of England in 2019?
It showed a strong showing away from Labour, and labour lost most of their red wall seats.
What issues were the 1983 election fought on?
Defence, Unemployment, Economic Prosperity.
What issues were the 1997 election fought on?
Europe, The Economy, Education, Constitutional change.
What issue was the 2019 election fought on?
Brexit.
What was the notable moment of the 1983 election?
‘Longest suicide note in history’ - Describing the Labour Manifesto.
What was the notable moment of the 1997 Election?
‘Things can only get better’ - Describing the incoming Labour government.
What was the notable moment of the 2019 election?
‘Get Brexit done’
