Elections - Should the Electoral System in the UK be Reformed?

Question 1

What electoral systems do the devolved assemblies use?

Answer 1

Scotland and Wales use the Additional Member System and Northern Ireland uses the Single Transferrable Vote system

Question 2

What are the strengths of First Past the post? (4)

Answer 2

1) Normally produces stable governments

2) Clear constituency to representative link

3) Allows for a swift and clear transfer of power and simple to use

4) Limits the influence of extremist parties

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of First Past the Post? (5)

Answer 3

1) It can produce an elective dictatorship (Parliament is dominated by the government that can easily pass all laws)

2) It penalises popular minority parties that lack concentrated support

3) It produces a significant number of wasted votes

4) It produces governments without a clear mandate

5) It encourages tactical voting

Question 4

Where is the Single Transferable Voting system used?

Answer 4

It is used in elections for the Northern Irish Assembly as well as local elections in Scotland, Northern Ireland and since 2021 in Wales if councils choose

Question 5

How are votes cast in Single Transferable Vote?

Answer 5

A voter will place multiple votes in preferential order

Question 6

How are votes counted in the Single Transferrable Voting system?

Answer 6

1) the total number of votes are counted to create the Droop Quota = (total valid poll/ (seats + 1) ) + 1

2) all the first preference votes are counted and if any candidate reaches the quota after this they receive a seat

3) If no candidate reaches the quota then the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, anyone that voted for the least voted candidate gets their votes redistributed

4) this process continues into the quota has been met enough times to fill all seats, because the quota equation starts with the total valid poll every seat will always be filled

Question 7

What are the strengths of the Single Transferable Vote? (5)

Answer 7

1) all votes matter so less tactical voting and voter apathy

2) produces proportionate results, the number of seats is similar to the number of votes received

3) no safe seats

4) voters have a choice of representatives as the constituencies are multi-member

5) voters have a range of choice as they vote for a candidate and a party

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of STV? (5)

Answer 8

1) it can lead to weaker governments as it normally causes coalition

2) STV constituencies are geographically large making them difficult to represent

3) it is a complex system of voting

4) there is less engagement with voters whereas in fptp the single MP of a constituency is the focus of politics

5) a slower count (weak argument, this is often exaggerated and the result is usually counted after 48 hours)

Question 9

Where is the Additional Member System (AMS) used?

Answer 9

Elections for the Welsh and Scottish Parliament as well as the London Assembly

Question 10

Which two types of voting systems is AMS a hybrid of and where are these used?

Answer 10

AMS is a hybrid of First Past the Post (for the single member constituencies) and the Closed Party List system (for the multi member regions)

Question 11

How are votes cast for AMS?

Answer 11

There are two ballot papers: 1) the first is the same as the usual First Past the Post system for the single member constituency.

2) The second paper shows a list of parties with a number of potential candidates who will represent that party in a big multi-member region. Voters select which party to represent them.

Question 12

How are votes counted for AMS?

Answer 12

• The constituency vote is counted the same as the FPTP system: the person with the most votes receives the seat
• The regional seats are counted after the constituency seats, they are counted using the D’Hondt formula =

overall vote/ number of seats allocated so far + 1

The number of seats allocated is in the formula to penalise parties that did well under the FPTP section

Question 13

What are the strengths of AMS? (4)

Answer 13

1) It is broadly proportional and unlike STV it isn’t unrealistic for a party to form a majority govt e.g. Scottish National Party majority of 9 seats after 2011 election

2) Every voter has at least one effective vote, if the constituency vote is wasted then at least the regional vote will count

3) It keeps a constituency-representative link but also maintains proportionality as the single member constituencies means there is still an MP accountable for constituents

4) Minor parties can become more influential through the regional list

Question 14

What are the weaknesses of AMS? (4)

Answer 14

1) Overhang seats: a party wins more seats via the constituency vote than it is entitled to according to their list vote

2) Too much power over selection is given to political parties as voters can only choose the party they want in the party list section and not the candidates

3) Two classes of representative: constituency and list MPs have very different roles

4) It is complicated and leads to wasted regional votes if a party performs well in the FPTP section

Question 15

Is the Supplementary Vote system plurality or majoritarian?

Answer 15

It is majoritarian

Question 16

Where is SV used?

Answer 16

SV is no longer used, it was used for English mayoral elections and police and crime commissioner elections until it was changed by the Elections Act 2022 to FPTP

Question 17

How are votes cast for SV?

Answer 17

There is one ballot paper and voters cast two votes in order of preference

Question 18

How are votes counted for SV?

Answer 18

All the first preference votes are counted and if any candidate reaches over 50% of all votes then they win.

If not, then the top two candidates go to a second round: votes of 1st preference remain with the 2 candidates that they received in the first round, and 2nd preference votes are now counted towards the top two candidates

Question 19

What are the strengths of SV? (5)

Answer 19

1) The winning candidate can claim to have a clear mandate due to it being majoritarian (more than 50% of the vote) - however this doesn’t mean they receive 50% of all votes, only 50% of the votes that counted in the final round

2) The requirement to win more than 50% encourages positive campaigning

3) It is difficult for extremist parties to win due to majoritarian

4) Generally produces stable governments as it is more proportional than FPTP but not to the point of constant coalition

5) Strong constituency-representative link

Question 20

What are the weaknesses of SV? (4)

Answer 20

1) It still has a significant number of wasted votes as only votes for the parties in the 2nd round will be counted

2) It creates a two party system as only two parties make it to the 2nd round

3) Tactical voting occurs as only the top 2 parties (Labour and Conservative) are likely to win

4) Not all votes are equal as second preference votes are only counted for the second round