Electoral systems

Question 1

Pros of FPTP? (Stability (1997, 2015), speed (2017), relationships (2015)?)

Answer 1

✅it creates stability and strong governments, able to make coherent decisions e.g. Blair 1997, Cameron 2015
✅it is quick to produce a result e.g. Newcastle Central 2017 11pm only 60min after polls closing had a result
✅MPs have a close relationship with constituents, they meet them regularly at ‘surgeries’ represent their concerns e.g Tim Farron 2015 keeping seats with 45.8% of vote

Question 2

Cons of FPTP? (Discriminates, unrepresentative (2015), wasted votes (2019)?)

Answer 2

❌It discriminated against moderate small parties with legitimate causes and ideologies e.g. Green Party suffered a lot
❌Most MPs do not achieve 50% of the votes in their constituency, so they are not representative of their constituency e.g. 2015 Con got 37% popular vote with a majority of 17 seats
❌votes are wasted on losing candidates or on huge majorities in safe seats, so not everybody’s vote is ‘worth’ the same e.g. 2019 10.3m voted for the losing candidate Labour

Question 3

Where is SV used?

Answer 3

London Mayor, police and crime commissioners use this

Question 4

Pros of SV (encourages what, recuces what, simple?)

Answer 4

✅encourages moderate campaigning, as gaining 2nd choice votes is important
✅It reduces tactical voting as you can vote for your 1st choice without the fear of wasting your vote
✅Relatively simple system to understand and use

Question 5

Cons of SV? (Promotes what, what may voters need to do, may lead to what?)

Answer 5

❌Promotes voting for candidates for the main 3 parties because only 2 candidates can make the cut; smaller parties won’t secure enough first preferences
❌voters may need to vote tactically if they want their vote to count
❌if there are more than 2 strong candidates, voters must guess which 2 will make it through, if incorrectly wasted votes

Question 6

Where is AMS used?

Answer 6

Used in devolved regions, combines the FPTP system and list system

Question 7

Pros of AMS? (Choice, fairer for who (2021), proportional?)

Answer 7

✅gives voters a wider choice e.g. they may choose a candidate from one party for their first vote and choose a different party for their second
✅Makes it easier for smaller parties to gain seats. The electorates vote counts more as their vote won’t be wasted e.g. Scottish Green Party won 8 seats in 2021 election
✅Broadly proportional - that the % of votes if reflected to the % of seats won by the party E.g. Scottish Conservative Party received 24% votes 24% seats

Question 8

Cons of AMS? (Confusion, duration (2021), too much power to smaller parties (2021)?)

Answer 8

❌Confusing for voters, vote twice, may vote incorrectly
❌Takes longer to get votes as the process is twice as long e.g. COVID restrictions, took 2 days for the results of 2021
❌Can give smaller parties too much power. Due to often coalition result could lead to too much power to parties who didn’t receive a significant amount of votes E.g. SNP not receiving a majority share of seats, formed partnership with Scottish Green Party 2021

Question 9

Where is STV used?

Answer 9

Northern Ireland and Scottish Local Council, is a highly proportionate electoral system

Question 10

Pros of STV? (Proportional (2016), party representation (2019), choice?)

Answer 10

✅proportional result E.g. 2016 Sinn Fein with 29 seats with 27% of the vote
✅Increased party representation, constituents more likely to feel seen and represented e.g. 2016 9 parties secured seats
✅Choice of likely candidates is greater due to multi-member system E.g. DUP, Sinn Fein etc

Question 11

Cons of STV? (Not so proportional (2017), confusion between representatives (2016), is there choice (2017)?)

Answer 11

❌Not always proportional e.g. 2017 DUP 38 seats 29% vote
❌Too many MPs due to the multi-member constituencies. E.g. 6 representatives in each of the 18 constituencies 2016
❌DUP and Sinn Fein still tend to dominate E.g. 2017 53% vote went to DUP+Sinn Fein

Question 12

What are the different types of electoral systems?

Answer 12

First-past-the-post (FPTP)
Supplementary Vote
Additional Member System
Single Transferable Vote

Question 13

Impact of different electoral systems?

Answer 13

• Third parties
• Coalitions
• Seats reflect votes

Question 14

Impact of THIRD PARTIES of different electoral systems?

Answer 14

Use of AMS has helped third parties to turn their thinly spread of support into seats
E.g. UKIP won seats in Wales and London Assembly seats

Question 15

Impact of COALITIONS of different electoral systems?

Answer 15

Use of PR has made majority govt less likely and coalitions or minority govt in the past have been effective

E.g. 1999 Welsh assembly resulted in Lab/Lib Dem and 2003 and 2016 Lab minority

Question 16

The impact of ‘SEAT REFLECT VOTES’ of different electoral systems?

Answer 16

AMS has ensured that the number of seats won more closely reflects votes

Question 17

(Is electoral reform more or less likely as a result?)
NOT ANYMORE LIKELY THAT IT WAS ❌

(Which parties benefit with the current system?)

Answer 17

❌Tories and Labour still benefit from FPTP and are still most likely to form a government e.g. 2019 43.6% (Con), 32.2% (Lab). The SNP do well in Westminster too

Question 18

(Is electoral reform more or less likely as a result?)
NOT ANYMORE LIKELY THAT IT WAS ❌

(What are the likely governments from more PR processes?)

Answer 18

Coalition and minority governments e.g. Scottish Parliament 2016 election resulted in SNP minority government have resulted from AMS, which is the most likely choice for a new system (as it has been used in the devolved institutions). May seem to be less stable governments as a result the likelihood of animosity between the two parties may lead to an ineffective government

Question 19

(Is electoral reform more or less likely as a result?)
NOT ANYMORE LIKELY THAT IT WAS ❌

(Motivation from the public?)

Answer 19

There is little clamour from the public to alter the system (even if the last referendum was over a decade ago)

Question 20

(Is electoral reform more or less likely as a result?)
MORE LIKELY ✅

(Fair and successful?)

Answer 20

AMS has worked in the UK and is fair and proportional, especially for third parties compared to FPTP. e.g. 1999 Welsh Assembly election resulted in a Lab/Lib Dem coalition

Question 21

(Is electoral reform more or less likely as a result?)
MORE LIKELY ✅

(Coalitions have been experienced across the UK?)

Answer 21

People have experienced minority and coalition governments across the UK since the last referendum, with no disasters
E.g. Con/Lib Dem 2010-15 and May’s minority government

Question 22

(Is electoral reform more or less likely as a result?)
MORE LIKELY ✅

(Benefit Labour?)

Answer 22

Labour are less likely to win a majority due to the SNP taking over Scotland. They might need Lib Dem, SNP and Green support, the price of which might be, reform

Question 23

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Introduction: What and Where are the different electoral systems

Answer 23

FPTP in Westminster, SV in mayoral elections, STV in local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland assembly, AMS in Scotland and Wales

Question 24

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 1: Point (FPTP enhances but disproportionate)

Answer 24

FPTP enhances and protects two-party system but is disproportionate Con won majority of seats with 38% of the vote – effective number of parties was around 2.8 in 2017

Question 25

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 1: CounterPoint (other parties are still well represented)

Answer 25

Smaller parties are still represented in Westminster E.G.2019 SNP won 48 seats out of 59 reflecting their popularity

Question 26

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 2: Point (SV fewer wasted votes than FPTP)

Answer 26

SV has fewer wasted votes than FPTP, resulting in a wider range of party representation as more votes have be used effectively and proportionally

Question 27

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 2: CounterPoint (SV can be disproportionate)

Answer 27

SV is still somewhat disproportionate E.G.2016 Labour got 500 K more votes than Conservatives but 5 fewer commissioners. May not be considered fair or proportional, lacking party representation slightly

Winning candidate doesn’t needs majority of preference votes meaning doesn’t reflect first choice of most votes

Question 28

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 2: Overall (SV presents significant differences in representation)

Answer 28

Especially compared with FPTP, notably reduced wasted votes E.g. 2019 22.6m WV, 2016 mayoral election: roughly 200k WV. This depends on the number of votes, but evidently show reduction in WV

Question 29

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 3: Point (STV and AMS more proportional)

Answer 29

• The use of STV and AMS result in more accurately representative legislatures as they are more proportional. Likely to be a coalition e.g. 1999 Welsh Assembly coalition between Lab/Lib Dem, strengthening party representation
• FPTP mean number of 2 parliamentary parties, AMS produces 3.1 and 3.3 in Wales and Scotland

Question 30

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 3: CounterPoint (STV and AMS do punish smaller parties)

Answer 30

STV and AMS also reward larger parties and punish smaller ones, which might slightly weaken party representation
London Assembly sets a threshold of 5% of the regional vote for any kind of representation

Question 31

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Para 3: Overall (STV and AMS compared to FPTP)

Answer 31

STV and AMS produce more representative legislatures than FPTP, Westminster compared to London Assembly

Question 32

Evaluate the view that various electoral systems in the use in the UK make significant differences to party representation [30]

Conclusion: PR better to reflect parties electoral success?

Answer 32

PR better reflect parties electoral success, seat allocation improve chances of minor parties – fewer wasted votes suggest mainstream UK politics would benefit from an update from FPTP