electoral systems

Question 1

what are functions of elections?

Answer 1

representation: by ensuring MPs are accountable to their constituents at regular intervals, choose a representative to speak on behalf of constituency

choosing government: party wins election secure right to govern, leader of winning party has the right to form a government

holding government to account: every 5 years government renews its mandate, voters can reject unpopular government, MPs held to account e.g after expenses scandal some MPs stood down rather than face voters

participation: allows citizens to actively participate, manifestoes provide information on which voters can make a judgement

Question 2

what is electoral mandate?

Answer 2

authority extended to winning party or candidate following success in an election

Question 3

when is FPTP used?

Answer 3

UK general elections and local council elections

Question 4

how does FPTP work?

Answer 4

voters choose preferred candidate, person with most votes in a constituency wins a seat, party with most seats has the right to form government (doesn’t have to be a majority)

Question 5

what is a safe seats?

Answer 5

a constituency that will usually remain under the control of a particular party, half of constituencies are considered safe, opposition voters often feel their vote is wasted

Question 6

what are marginal seats?

Answer 6

constituencies that are highly contested and often swing from one party to another, voters have more influence on national result

Question 7

what are advantages of FPTP?

Answer 7

speed and simplicity: easy to use ‘X’ next to candidate, result reached quickly (morning after), government rapidly formed (except 2010 election took 5 days)

strong and stable government: promotes a two-party system and tends to produce majority governments which gain mandate (allowed Thatcher to carry out plans for reduction of trade union power)

exclusion of extremists: extreme parties (e.g racist) unlikely to gain power

strong link between MPs and constituents: constituencies small and MPs responsible for representing constituents, correspondence and surgeries

Question 8

what are disadvantages of FPTP?

Answer 8

MPs and government can be elected on a minority: more than half of MPs typically don’t win majority and May formed minority government in 2017

lack of proportionality: doesn’t translate number of votes into seats, UKIP won 3.9 mil votes in 2015 but only one seat but SNP 56 of 59 seats with 50% of vote because geographically concentrated

votes are of unequal value: votes in small constituencies count more e.g. 9407 votes to elect Orkney and Shetland mp, 28,591 for Isle of Wight mp

Question 9

when is additional member system used?

Answer 9

Scottish Parliament, welsh assembly, Greater London assembly

Question 10

how does AMS work?

Answer 10

(hybrid, mixed system)
voters get two votes, first for constituency candidate who is elected using FPTP

second for a party list, votes are distributed to parties proportionally

parliament made up of representatives from both the constituencies and party list
MSPs represent constituencies and 56 from party list

Question 11

what are advantages of AMS?

Answer 11

more proportional - d’Hondt formula used to determine how many members a party should be allocated e.g. Scotland 1997 conservatives won no seats in Westminster but list enabled it to win 18 seats in Scottish
elections 1999

maintains strong link between member and constituents

gives voters a wider choice - they can vote for a ‘split ticket’

Question 12

what are disadvantages of AMS?

Answer 12

two different types of member - some with constituency responsibilities and some without, create animosity, if elected via party list seen as having gotten in ‘through the back door’

closed list system - party leadership ranks candidates in order on list, can use their power to limit chances of dissident members being elected, undemocratic

smaller parties less represented than under a fully proportional system

more complex and confusing

may produce unstable minority or coalition government, majority governments rare

Question 13

when is single transferable vote used?

Answer 13

Northern Ireland assembly and Scottish council elections

Question 14

how does STV work?

Answer 14

uses multi-member constituencies, voters rank the candidates in order of preference, in order to be elected a candidate needs to get more votes than a quote which is derived using the droop formula

surplus votes about the quote are proportionally redistributed to second preferences

if no one reaches the quota, least popular candidate is eliminated and the second preferences of those who votes for them are redistributed, process continues until all the seats are filled

Question 15

what are advantages of STV?

Answer 15

proportional - close correlation between votes and seats

voter choice is high - between parties and candidates in the same party

coalition government is more likely so parties have to work together e.g Northern Ireland STV created a power sharing government that enables representatives from unionists and nationalists to work together, ending 30 years of violence

fewer wasted votes

Question 16

what are disadvantages of STV?

Answer 16

more likely to result in minority or coalition government - power sharing prone to conflict and collapse, Northern Ireland executive was suspended several times as a result of a breakdown of trust

complex system - many ballot papers were spoiled in Scotland when it was introduced, results take longer to be announced

six representatives per constituency so lines of accountability are not clear

Question 17

where is supplementary vote used?

Answer 17

elections for London mayor and other elected mayors

Question 18

how does supplementary vote work?

Answer 18

voters get a first and second preference, any candidate who gains more than 50% of the votes is automatically elected

if not all candidates except top two are eliminated and second preference votes are added to produce overall winner

Question 19

what are advantages of SV?

Answer 19

ensures broad support for the winner - Sadie khan, elected mayor of London in 2016 has largest personal mandate of any politician in British history
simple and straight forward to use - no spoiled votes
fewer wasted votes
voter’s first and second choices are relevant

Question 20

what are disadvantages of SV?

Answer 20

not proportional - one individual is being elected to a single office
no majority needed - winner only needs to beat the other remaining candidate
voters need to vote tactically in order to maximise the value of their vote, they need to identify the likely top two candidates in order to have influence over outcome

Question 21

why has FPTP survived in Westminster?

Answer 21

outcomes of FPTP suit the interests of the largest parties who have a diminished interest in reforming the system

coalition offered referendum on AV in 2011 but people voted against it because FPTP is familiar and easy to use

Question 22

why is AMS used in Scotland and Wales?

Answer 22

introduced by labour as a compromise to win acceptance of their devolution plans, libdems and SNP preferred STV

AMS would be broadly representative but not as radical as STV

after it was decided for Scotland it was also used in Wales and Greater London assembly

Question 23

why is STV used in Northern Ireland?

Answer 23

chosen after good Friday agreement because broadly representative and allows representation of different parties

divisions between unionists and nationalists mean both sides need to have representation and show power in order to avoid non-political (violent) action

had also been used in Republic of Ireland and previously used in Northern Ireland parliament

Question 24

why is SV used for mayors?

Answer 24

both SV and AV were considered, SV chosen because simpler to use and would give winner a clear mandate because only top two candidates after first preferences contains so candidates with little support less likely to win because ‘lowest common denominator’

Question 25

what is the impact of electoral systems on parties?

Answer 25

fully or partly proportional systems benefit smaller parties

FPTP benefits larger parties because small parties likely to get low level support across country e.g. UKIP 2015 won 12.5% of vote but one seat, SNP successful because geographically concentrated

smaller parties have vested interest in electora reform but unlikely to achieve because large parties have diminished interest, unsuccessful referendum

Question 26

what is impact of electoral system on voter choice?

Answer 26

voter choice highest under STV because can choose between different representatives of same party

more proportional systems associated with higher turnout however devolved bodies more proportional but have lower turnout

Question 27

what are properties associated with proportional electoral systems?

Answer 27

votes worth equal amounts
increased voter choice
minor party representation
coalition/minority government
multiple winners in constituencies

Question 28

what are properties associated with plurality electoral systems?

Answer 28

single party governments
single member constituencies
candidates elected without a majority
one person, one vote for one candidate

Question 29

what is the impact of electoral systems on type of government?

Answer 29

proportional systems result in coalition or minority governments, common in Scotland, Wales and NI in contrast to Westminster (except 2010 and 2017), however they have proved effective and stable

Question 30

what is the impact of electoral systems of how governments operate?

Answer 30

more compromise, negotiations between parties common in Scotland, Wales and NI, except majority government in Scotland

when it was minority government, SNP had to win support of other parties in order to pass legislation e.g. 2011 government had to agree to measures to increase youth employment and training when conservatives and libdems claimed their budget didn’t do enough to promote economic recovery

whereas in Westminster parties in adversarial relationship with major opposition party and smaller parties having less influence