elections and referendums Flashcards
what are the features of FPTP
two party systems winners bonus bias to majority party discrimination against third and smaller parties single party government
two party systems
favours major parties that have strong nationwide support
what happening to two and half party system
failing in health
social democratic party was formed by a disaffected labour mp in 1981
25% of vote but only 23 seats
winners bonus
exaggerate performance of mot popular party
strong government as it means winner party gets a majority in parliament
bias to one major party
system favoured labour from 1990s to 2010 reasons for bias; tactical voting different constituency size differential turnout
votes per seat at 2015 general election
conservative; 34,243 labour; 40,290 lib dems; 301,986 UKIP; 3,881,129 SNP; 25,972
how does FPTP discriminate against smaller parties
need support to be broad and concentrated
mechanics
makes it more difficult for smaller parties to win seats
psychology
smaller parties have a credibility problem because voters believe that a vote for them is ‘wasted’
single party government
produces single party majority governments with working parliamentary majorities
does FPTP always produce single party governments
four of the seven general elections held between 1910 and 1929 did not produce a majority government
advanatges of FPTP
strong government easier to hold it accountable
easy to understand for the electorate, familiar
winner bonus creates strong government
extremist parties cant get into power
electorate view it as legitimate
produces clear winner
doctrine of mandate
obliges winning party to put proposals into affect
FPTP gives them a stronger mandate
disadvantages of FPTP
discriminates against third parties
win on simple plurality, dont need majority, less legit
wasted votes
disproportional
more safe seats
not proper choice because of two party
safe+ marginal seats hides signifcant levels of support
for FPTP (what is effective representation)
single member constituencies clear link between voters and elected representatives
example of how disproportional outcome
tend to win more seats than vote merit
majority governments have only one 35% of vote
since 1945 2nd parties
UKIP seat to vote share ratio
1 seat but 12.6% of vote
who benefited from tactical voting
labour, from anti-conservative tactical voting between 1997 and 2005
constituency size impact in 2015
electorate in constituencies won by labour were on average 3,850 lower than those won by conservative
mostly because of population movement from urban to rural
differential turnout
lower in labour held seats
62% in 2015, compared to 69% in seats won by cons
labour need to win fewer votes to win seats between 1997 and 2010
divisive politics
small shifts in voting produced frequent changes of government- led to instability because parties could overturn policies introduced by their rvials
FPTP is no longer fit for purpose
less effective in persuading electors not to vote for small parties= lib dems 23% 2010
other parties winning seats in commons 2015 SNP 56 seats
Winston Churchill on FPTP
not secure majority representation, nor do they secure an intelligent representation of minorities 1909
british election turnout figures using other systems
has never got 55%
why did UKIP not win more seats in 2015
their support wasnt concentrated
UKIP compared to SNP in 2015
UKIP won more than twice as many votes than SNP but recieved 55 fewer seats
took 26,000 votes to elect one SNP MP
took 4 million votes to elect a UKIP MP
example of how FPTP creates illegitimate MPs
albert owen (labour) re-elected in Ynys Mon with only 31% of vote
which elections use FPTP
general elections to commons
which elections to supplementary
mayoral election
police and crime commissioners
which elections use regional list
european parliament
lists seats for devolved parliament
which elections use single transferable vote
assembly, local and european parliament
which elections use additional member system
scottish parliament
welsh assembly
london assembly
majoritarian system
absolute majority 50% +1
FPTP is NOT majoritarian
plurality system
winner needs only one more vote than closest rival
FPTP IS a single member plurality
proportional representation
cover many systems which produce close fit between votes and seats
mixed system
some representatives elected in a single member constituency using FPTP. remainder by proportional representation
safest seat in country
Liverpool, Walton Labour won by 86% in 2017
most marginal seat in 2017
North East fife SNP won by 2 votes
what are super marginals
majorities of fewer than 100 votes
propsect 2015
vernon bogdanor
“no government since 2001 has gained support of over 40% of voters”
“1950s over 90% of us voted conservative or labour”
“unfreezing of class structure”
functions of elections
representation
choosing a government
influence over policy
citizen education
elections to devolved assemblies
every 5 years
local elections
4 year terms
by election
resigns or dies
european parliament elections
every 5 years
why has there been so much electoral reform since 1997
vocal campaigning against FPTP
labour manifesto included constitiutional and electoral reform
how do more proportional outcomes impact third parties
they get more success
what are coalition governments
no single party wins a majority of seats, multiples partis form government
what are minority governments
forms government despite not winning a majority of seats
why do supporters of FPTP prefer majority government
strengthens their mandate
get votes in parliament to pass bills
what is split ticket voting
voting for candidates from political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single elections
why has electoral reform slowed down in recent years
once labour started to win majority with FPTP they started to move away from the idea
additional member system
elements of FPTP and the regional list
used to elect the scottish parliament, welsh and london assembly
how are seats elected using AMS
proportional seats in legislative assembly are elected using FPTP in single member constituencies (73 out of 129 members)
additional members are elected using regional list
how does electorate cast votes using AMS
two votes- one for favourite candidate + one for favourite party
how are regional list seats allocated in AMS
using the d’Hondt formula+ on a corrective basis to ensure no. of seats in the assembly is proportional to number of votes
advantages of AMS
combines best features of FPTP and proportional reprensentation
less wasted votes
more proportional
greater choice (split ticket voting)
voting easy to count+electorate understand how outcome is reached
disadvantages of AMS
2 categories of representatives- one with constituency duties + one without, could create tension
parties have significant control over closed lists used to elect additional memebers-voters cant choose between candidate from same party
supplementary voting
used to elect mayor of london
voter records 1st and 2nd preferences
if no candidate wins a majority of first preferences all but two candidates are elminated+ 2nd preference votes are for the remaining two candidates
advantages of supplementary voting
winner achieve broad support= legitimacy
supporters of smaller parties can use first vote to show allegiance to it and second to bigger party they prefer
disadvantages of supplementary voting
winning candidate elected without winning majority of votes if second preferences votes arent used effectively
winning candidate doesnt need majority of first preference votes
wouldnt deliver proportion in general election
what is single transferable vote
representatives are elected in larger multi member constituencies, 18 constituencies each elect six members
voting is preferential+ ordinal (can choose as many as they want)
candidate must achieve droop quota, excess votes are redistributed on basis of second preference
what is droop quota
(total valid poll/seats available +1) +1
advantages of single transferable vote
proportional outcomes+votes
greater choice range of candidates with multiple ones from the same party
disadvantages of single transferable vote
less accurate in translating votes into seats than proportional representation
multi member constituency weaken mp constituency link
likely to produce coalition
counting process lengthy and complex
impact of FPTP on the type of government
becoming less likely to produce majority government of the last 3 elections only 2015 produced a majority
impact of election system on representation
elections to devolved assemblies reflect increasing multi party politics
2015 general election was one of most disproportionate in the post war period
impact of election systems on voter choice
greater choice under AMS,SV,STV- split ticket
more sophisticated voting behavior
evidence from other countries= turnout in GE conducted under PR higher than where FPTP is used
what is a referendum
popular vote on a single issue
when was the 1st referendum
197 nationwide EEC
only been 3 referendums
AV vote 2011
EEC 1975
EU 2016
local referendums
congestion charges
manchester 2008 3/4 voters rejected
national referendums
constitutional change (devolution) coalition agreement (2011 AV) party management (resolve divisions) political pressure (scottish independence)
referendum regulations
wording
campaign participation
campaign spending
conduct of the campaign
wording of referendum regulations
commission propose questions to the government but they don’t have to accept (usually do)
campaign participation (referendum regulations)
spend £10,000+ on campaigning must register as participants with electoral commission
bigger parties have higher spending limit, public money and tv broadcast entitlement
conduct of campaign (referendum regulations)
issues report on administration and spending
questioned rules on spending by UK government in 2016 EU referendum
why can referendums be argued to provide a stronger mandate for important reforms than elections
single issue which create clear and stronger mandate
in elections people voting on manifesto- less likely to agree on every policy
what was the good friday agreement
peace agreement between british and irish government and most political parties in northern ireland
about future of governance of Northern Ireland
establsihed northern ireland assembly
nationalists and unionists share power in government
how did a referendum help the good friday agreement
71% in favour 81% turnout helped shield deal from extremists
how did referendums help the Labour government in the 1970s
67.23% voted to stay in the EEC, it meant divisions in the party could be smoothed over
what are entrenched laws
more difficult process for ammendment or repeal than normal laws
changes to US constitution need 2/3 super majority
why can referendums be said to entrench UK constitutional reforms, even though parliament is sovereign?
public pressure and threat of next election makes it more difficult for parliament and the government to ignore
what impact can referendums have on political participation
can encourage political participation between elections and can educate voters on key political issues exposing them to various arguments
encourages future participation