Elections And Referendums Flashcards
Elections key points:
Key points
✚ Britain uses the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system in general elections, but it has significant weaknesses.
✚ Alternative voting systems are used in other elections across the UK, with mixed results.
✚ Voting behaviour in general elections is influenced by a wide range of different factors.
✚ Referendums have been used more frequently since 1998, though debates continue as to their impact on democracy.
KEY CONCEPTS:
Participation: The various ways in which people can get involved in the political process, ranging in scale from standing for elected office to signing an e-petition. The most central form of participation is voting in elections.
Manifesto: The set of policies a political party promises to implement if elected to office.
What are the main criteria’s used to analyse different electoral systems:
• Proportionality and a fair result: the proportion of seats won should correspond to the overall percentage of the vote. A party gaining 15% of the vote should therefore ideally have 15% of MPs.
• Vote value: all votes are equally important in determining the final outcome of an election, none are ‘wasted’. No voter should feel that their vote is pointless and counts for nothing.
• Promoting participation and turnout: electoral systems should incentivise high levels of turnout and participation. This is most likely when voters feel that casting their ballot could affect the final result.
• Strong and accountable government: voters should feel not only that any government is able to deliver its promises, but also that they can directly reward or punish a prime minister and their party based on their record in office.
• Local links: MPs represent a specific region or area, enabling voters to bring grievances and concerns directly to ‘their’ elected representative.
• Power of the party: many voters might want an electoral system that allows them to choose between different candidates from the same party, preventing too much power being given to the central party bureaucracy and leadership.
• Party choice and representation: the electoral system should encourage and enable a broad range of parties to stand in elections.
• Comprehensibility and transparency: the system is easy for the public to understand and produces clear results. There should not be dubious backstairs post-election deals between the parties.
no one system scores highly in every category. Equally, all the systems have strengths in at least one area. In many cases, a strength in one area, such as the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system usually generating strong majority governments, impacts negatively on another area, for example proportionality. With FPTP, no single political party has won more than 50% of the vote in a UK general election since 1945 — the closest was 1955, when the Conservatives won 49.7% of the overall vote.
Explain the debate over electoral reform
The Debate Over Electoral Reform in the UK
Make Votes Matter and Support for Reform
In 2015, the cross-party pressure group Make Votes Matter was formed to campaign for a proportional electoral system in UK general elections. By 2019, supporters included:
• The Liberal Democrats, Green Party, SNP, Brexit Party, Plaid Cymru, and the Electoral Reform Society.
• A few individuals from Labour and the Conservatives.
Political Self-Interest in Electoral Reform
Support for reform is partly driven by democratic principles but also by political self-interest:
• FPTP disadvantages smaller parties like the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and Brexit Party.
• SNP and Plaid Cymru are not disadvantaged but operate in a Westminster system controlled by Labour or Conservatives, limiting their influence.
• Labour and Conservatives largely oppose reform, as proportional representation (PR) would likely deny them majority governments.
Impact of Electoral Systems on Government Formation
• Proportional systems often result in permanent coalition governments.
• This is seen in other countries using PR and in the UK’s devolved assemblies.
Effects on Voting Behaviour
• Under FPTP, voters may feel their preferred candidate has no chance, leading to:
• Tactical voting (choosing the least-worst electable candidate).
• Lower turnout due to abstention.
• Proportional systems can encourage greater support for smaller parties.
• Example: In European elections (since 1999), UKIP and the Brexit Party performed better than in general elections.
• This may be due to both increased viability of election and protest voting.
Key Debates on Electoral Reform
1. What aspects of electoral systems matter most?
2. Would reform help or hinder certain parties?
3. How would reform impact voter behaviour?
4. Is there enough public enthusiasm for change?
5. If reform happens, what system should replace FPTP?
The main electoral systems used in the UK, and their advantages and disadvantages
You only need to study two electoral systems: (including FPTP) in detail, but it is useful to know how the other systems operate, and their benefits and disadvantages.
Several types of electoral systems are used in the UK:
1. First-past-the-post (FPTP): used in general elections and English local elections
2. Party list proportional representation (List PR) or D’Hondt system: used in European elections
3. Additional member system (AMS): used in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments
4. Single transferable vote (STV): used in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Scottish local council elections
5. Alternative vote (AV): used in the election of parliamentary select committee chairs
these are the results of the 2019 general election, showing how different electoral systems can produce contrasting outcomes in terms of the number of MPs elected from the same result
• Conservative Party: • Vote share (FPTP): 43.6% • MPs under different electoral systems: • First Past the Post (FPTP): 365 MPs • List PR: 288 MPs • AMS: 284 MPs • STV: 312 MPs • Labour Party: • Vote share (FPTP): 32.1% • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 202 MPs • List PR: 216 MPs • AMS: 188 MPs • STV: 221 MPs • Liberal Democrats: • Vote share (FPTP): 11.5% • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 11 MPs • List PR: 48 MPs • AMS: 4 MPs • STV: 1 MP • Scottish National Party (SNP): • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 48 MPs • List PR: 28 MPs • AMS: 12 MPs • STV: 4 MPs • Plaid Cymru: • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 4 MPs • List PR: 11 MPs • AMS: 3 MPs • STV: 79 MPs • Green Party: • Vote share (FPTP): 2.7% • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 1 MP • List PR: 26 MPs • AMS: 5 MPs • STV: 38 MPs • Brexit Party: • Vote share (FPTP): 2% • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 0 MPs • List PR: 12 MPs • AMS: 4 MPs • STV: 11 MPs • Other parties (excluding the Speaker): • Vote share (FPTP): 1% • MPs under different electoral systems: • FPTP: 0 MPs • List PR: 30 MPs • AMS: 5 MPs • STV: 2 MPs
- only FPTP would have produced a government with an overall Commons majority
- along with the Conservatives, the SNP would also have gained fewer MPs using alternative voting systems
- the Liberal Democrats would benefit most from electoral reform
- the smaller parties, such as the Green Party and the Brexit Party, would fare best under AMS compared with the other alternative electoral systems, although the Brexit Party would do almost as well under List PR
Explain and analyse First Post The Post:
First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) in the UK
How FPTP Works
• Majoritarian system: The candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins the seat.
• No reward for runners-up, no matter how close the contest.
• The UK is divided into 650 single-member constituencies, meaning a party can win a large number of votes nationwide but still gain few or no MPs.
Example: Great Grimsby, 2019 General Election
• The Conservative candidate, Lia Nici, won the seat with 18,150 votes.
• The Labour candidate, Melanie Onn, finished second with 10,819 votes.
• Other candidates and their vote counts:
• Christopher Barker (Brexit Party): 2,378 votes
• Ian Barfield (Liberal Democrats): 1,070 votes
• Loyd Emmerson (Green Party): 514 votes
• Nigel Winn (Independent): 156 votes
• Conservative majority: 7,331 votes.
Key Takeaways
• FPTP creates clear winners but does not proportionally represent all voters.
• Smaller parties struggle to gain seats even if they receive a significant number of votes.
