Electoral examples Flashcards
How many seats did the Conservatives lose in 2017?
13 (despite a gain in vote)
“How many seats did the Conservatives gain in 2019?
What did this make their majority?”
gain of 48 seats, giving them an 80 seat parliamentary majority
Why did the Conservative’s number of seats vary so much in 2017 and 2019, despite only having a 1% difference in vote share?
The gap between Conservatives and Labour was an important element of the different outcomes. In 2017 Labour increased its vote share to 40%, not far behind the Conservatives 42%. Labour’s share then fell to 32% in 2019, well behind the Conservatives 43% and the FPTP system translated into a sizeable gap
When did elections happen early under the fixed term parliament act?
In 2017 and 2019, due to a 2/3rds majority in votes
What body used the closed list system of PR
European Parliament from 1999 to 2019
Where in the UK uses STV?
Assembly, local and parliamentary elections in Ireland as well as local elections in Scotland
Where in the UK uses SV?
Mayor of London, directly elected mayors, police and crime commissioners were elected using SV up until May 2023
Where in the UK uses AMS?
Scottish Parliament, Senned and Greater London Assembly
What examples show that FPTP is a system of plurality and doesn’t require a majority (50% +1 vote) to win a seat?
(x2 examples)
In 2019, victorious candidate in Sheffield Hallam, Labour’s Olivia Blake won only 34.6% of the vote. The Lib Dems in second won 33.4% of the vote.
The winning candidate in Belfast South in 2015 secured fewer than one in four votes
What example shows that votes don’t equal one person, one vote because of difference in constituency size?
The most populous constituency in 2019 was the Isle of Wight, which had an electorate five times larger than the smallest one, which is the western Isles (113,021 compared to 21,106)
What example highlights that all constituency seats tend to be the same size?
With the exception of 5 island seats across the UK, all constituencies will have electorates that deviate by no more than 5 percentage points from the UK average.
What does population change mean for the formation of constituencies?
ten constituencies will be added to England, but Wales will lose 8 constituencies and Scotland will lose 2
Where has the largest safe seat?
The safest seats in the 2019 general election were Liverpool: Labour won 85% of the vote in Liverpool, Walton, and has a majority of almost 40,000 in Knowsley
What have been some examples of the closest marginal seats?
In 2017, the SNP won north east Fife by just two votes
What example shows that marginal seats are in long term decline (consider decline and increases in safe seats)
In 2019, 67 seats were won by a margin of 5% or less compared to 91 in 2010. The number of very safe seats has increased in each of the last four general elections, with 68 seats seeing a party win by a margin of 45% or more.
What is an example of a faction party finding it very difficult to win seats?
The social democratic party (SDP) was formed by dissatisfied Labour MPs in 1981. It fought the 1983 election in an alliance with the liberals, winning 25% of the vote, but only 23 seats.
What is an example of an outsider party finding it hard to breakthrough?
UKIP won its only seat at a general election in 2015, but this was a poor reward for 12.6% of national vote.
What examples show a decline in the two party trend?
(x2)
In 2010, the Conservatives and Labour only received 65% of the vote - a postwar low
Support for parties other than the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dem reached a record 25% in 2015
What happened in 2017 to the two-party system?
The 2017 general election reversed the two party system trend as the two main parties had 82% of the vote combined, the highest since 1970. This gave them 89% of seats
What example shows the emergence of a multi-party system in 2017 nationally, despite high levels of voting for the two main parties
the SNP remained the largest party in Scotland and the Conservatives relied on support of the DUP
What does the 2017 outcome show us about FPTP?
FPTP still did not deliver a parliamentary majority, as the small gap between labour and conservative denied the conservatives of a winners bonus
What % of the electorate voted for the two main parties in 2019?
76%
When did the two main parties each gain large winner’s bonuses
Conservatives had landslide victories in 1983 and 1987, with Labour having big landslides in 1997 and 2001