electoral system Flashcards
what electoral system do we use in the uk?
First past the post
What is first past the post
- A plurality system in which the electorate votes for one candidate in their constituency.
- Whichever candidate gets the most votes wins
- Candidate do not need to win a party majority.
When is first past the post used?
Used in general elections in the UK to elect representatives (MPs) to the house of commons.
The party with the most __1___ can form a __2___ ?
- seat
2. government
Advantages of first past the post
• FPTP often leads to a strong government with a clear mandate to carry out its policies because the winning party can win a clear majority.
• FPTP gives voters a clear choice and promotes a system where two parties dominate.
- In 1997 Tony Blair carried out constitutional reforms after a large election victory where Labour won 418 seats.
• Simple to understand because voters choose one candidate with a single vote, and the winning party is the one with the most seat.
•FPTP provide strong representation in the UK with small constituencies having a single MP to represent their interest.
Disadvantages of FPTP
• FPTP is not a proportional system as votes do not translate into seats. FPTP benefits parties with a concentrated support, whilst parties with more thinly spread support win fewer seats.
• In the 2015 general election, the SNP’s 1.4 million votes were highly concentrated in Scotland and translated into 56 seats whilst UKIP’s 3.8 million votes translated into 1 seat.
•There is limited choice for some voters in FPTP because many seats are
safe seats where the MP has a secure majority and it is very unlikely
that another candidate will win the election.
-Theresa May’s constituency, Maidenhead, is a safe seat with the
Conservatives winning over 60% ef the votes in 2017.
• People veting ether parties may feel as though their vote is wasted.
- In 2017, the Nerth East Fife Constituency saw 67% of votes wasted
for losing candidates with the SNP winning the constituency by a majority of 2 votes.
what are wasted votes?
Votes that do not contribute to the election of a political candidate.
what’s tactical voting?
When a voter doesn’t vote for their preferred party because they don’t believe that the party can win. Instead they vote for another party with a better chance of voting.
Safe seats
Those in which one party has a large majority that it is highly unlikely they can be won by another party.
Marginal seats
Those in which the MP’s majority is small, meaning that they can easily be won by another party.
Where is the single transferable votes (STV) used
Used by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
what is single transferable vote
• Rather than one person representing in a small area, bigger areas elect a small team of representatives, like 4 or 5. These representatives reflect the diversity of opinion in the area.
Advantages of STV
voters don’t have to worry about tactical voting
first past the post vs single transferable vote
• FPTP is likely to produce a government with a stronger mandate to govern than under STV.
• Under STV a coalition government is most likely which can lead to instability and less effective policymaking than under a FPTP system which can produce a one party winner.
• A coalition government is a government made up of more than one party.
• STV can also result in a minority government which is a government
that runs the country but without a majority of seats in the legislature
What’s a coalition government?
• A coalition government is a government made up of more than one
party
FPTP is not always strong in government because….
• FPTP can result in a minority government, as with the Conservative government in 2017.
• FPTP can result in a coalition government, as with the Conservatives
and Liberal Democrats in 2010.
• However, under FPTP a coalition or minority government are less likely.
Representative links with FPTP and STV
• FPTP provides a strong link between politicians and the voters who they represent.
• Under FPTP in the UK general election, there are small constituencies with a single MP to represent them.
• STV can provide a weaker link between representatives and voters because of large multi-member constituencies where many members represent the same constituents.
• In the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, there are 5 members
representing each constituency.
what type of system is Single transferable vote
proportional system
What’s additional members system?
AMS is an electoral system where voters have two votes: one vote for their constituency representatives using FPTP and a second vote for a ‘party list’ in order to elect an ‘additional’ representative.
•The party list uses multi-member regional constituencies and a party’s list of candidates is published before the election.
Where is additional member system used.
Elections to the Scottish parliament, National assembly for wales.
Advantages of additional member system.
Mixed
• Choice: voters can confidently vote for
minor parties with their regional list vote.
• Split-ticket voting allows voters to choose one party for their constituency vote, and a different party for their
list vote.
• Constituency seats retain the relationship between the MP and the
constituency.
• Strong link between FPTP vote and constituencies.
Disadvantages of AMS
•Smaller parties are less well represented under AMS than in an entirely proportional system because the party list system can advantage large parties.
- In wales there are small number of top-up seats, which favour the Labour party.
• Party list candidates have less legitimacy than members elected by the FPTP vote because they aren’t directly elected with a personal mandate from voters.
• AMS lack democratic transparency because the party decides who is on the party list and ranks the order of candidates.
Where are supplementary vote used?
Used for London Mayoral elections and to elect Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales.
How is supplementary vote used?
- In the SV system, a voter has a first and second preference vote with a candidate elected for winning more than 50% of the first preference votes.
- If no candidate wins over 50% then the top two will be voted for while eliminating the other preference.
Advantages of SV
•Simple voting system because voters only need to select a first and second preference through marking two Xs rather than writing multiple numbers.
• SV stops candidates winning through having a small level of support and encourages more positive campaigning as candidates need the second preference votes of other parties.
- SC ensures large support for the winning candidates such as with Sadie Khan winning 56.8% of the total vote in the 2016 London Mayor election.
Disadvantages of SV
• Voted can be wasted because voters only choose two candidates meaning that many votes can be excluded from the final count if their top two candidates are eliminated.
- In the 2012 London Mayor election, 15% of votes were wasted in round one and over 7% of votes in round two.
• SV is not proportional to the wishes of a region- only one candidate is elected, rather than multiple proportionally reflecting the wishes of the voters.
• The winning candidate doesn’t require an absolute majority of votes and so can be elected with minority support- they just need the most votes in total after the second round.
