Electoral systems

Question 1

SV

Answer 1

Supplementary vote
- Used for directly elected mayors in England including the Mayor of London and the Police and crime commission elections.
- Non-proportional electoral system.

Question 2

Features of SV

Answer 2

• Non-Proportional
• Single-member consituencies
• Electors have two votes, a first preference and a second ‘supplementary’ vote.
• Winning candidates in the election must gain a minimum of 50% of all votes cast.
• Votes are counted according to first preference, and if no candidate reaches 50% in the first round, the top two candidates remain in the election and all other candidates drop out, their vote being redistributed on the basis of their second vote.
• The candidate with the most first choice and second choice votes is elected.

Question 3

Advantages of SV

Answer 3

• SV is simple to understand and would be easy for voters to use, its familiar and consituentcy boundaries would stay the same, all that would change is the ballot cards.
• They need to gain second-preference votes to win a second round, this encourages better campaigning, to all the electorate and not just focusing on certain groups.
• Penalises extremist parties who are unlikely to gain many first prefference votes.
• Single party majority government.
• More proportional than FPTP
• Greater legitemacy as they have to have relatively broad support.
• Increased votes for smaller parties.
• Less wasted votes

Question 4

Disadvantages of SV

Answer 4

• The winning candidate may not need a majority of first preference votes, the one that secures the most first preference votes may not be elected after the second prefferences are redistributed, the least unpopular rather the most popular might be elected.
• Not a proportional outcome if used for a general elections
• Fewer votes are wasted with SV compared with FPTP, although it does not neccesarily ensure the winning candidate has support of at least 50% of voters because a proportion of SV will be for candidates that have dropped out.
• Small party votes will still be low, because if the second prefference votes are used for the green party and lib dems, this will not help their chances.
• If there are two or more strong candiates than voters will have to guess who will make the final round for their second preference vote, if they failt to do so their vote will be wasted.
• Some voters will have their voted excluded in round one and wasted in round 2.

Question 5

EXAMPLE of Disadvantages of SV - Winning candidates may not win 50% of the vote.

Answer 5

The ERS confirmed that ‘in almost two decades of SV elections for the Mayor of London only in 2016 has a mayor won more than 50% of the total ballots’

This is because ‘non transferable votes’ for anyone that isnt the remaining two parties are excluded, in 2012 over 7% of votes were excluded from the second round meaning Johnson won with 47.2% of the vote.

Question 6

EXAMPLE of Disadvantages of SV - Party representation

Answer 6

With the exception of the 2000 election when the indpendant Ken Livingstone was elected, every other final two candidates have been from the labour and conservative party.

In 2016 there were 36 Police and Crime and commissioner contests in England, 33 were won by conservative and labour.

Question 7

EXAMPLES of the advantages of SV - Greater legitemacy as they have to have relatively broad support. (OVER 50%)

Answer 7

Sadiq Kahn was elected with over 50% over two rounds, winning 44% of the first round votes and after the second round of votes he had won 56.7% of the vote

In 2017 Andy Burnham was elected as Mayor of Manchester with 63% of the vote.

Question 8

EXAMPLE of Disadvantages of SV - Turnout was low

Answer 8

Average turnout for Police and Crim commissionier elections is 27%

Turnout at the 2012 election was 38%

Question 9

EXAMPLE of Disadvantages of SV - Wasted Votes

Answer 9

At the PCC elections the number of ballots rejected 3.4% was higher than at any other nation wide electoral event.

24% were rejected at the second prefference votes, in 80% of cases this is because voters failed to put any such preference.

Question 10

Proportional systems in the UK

Answer 10

AMS and STV

Question 11

AMS

Answer 11

Additional member system

This is used for elections to the Scottish parliament, the welsh parliament and the greater london assembly. The second most used system in the Uk after FPTP.

Question 12

AMS and the list system

Answer 12

A proportion of seats are elected using a single member consituency system and FPTP, for example 57% in the Scottish Parliament.

The standard list system has no consituency, each party puts up as many candidayes as there are seats in the list, the voters then vote for a party not a candidate, and seats are allocated according to the percentage of votes recieved.
Candiates are selected from the top of each party list and then are allocated seats, this is a closed list where the electors have no say in the order of politicians on the list.
There are also regional lists where the country is divided up into smaller regions allowing for some regional representation.

• Electors cast two votes, one for the candidate in a single member consituency and another for a party.

Question 13

Advantages of the AMS system

Answer 13

• The mixed character of this system balances the need for consituency representation against the need for electoral fairness.
• Although the system is broadly proportional in terms of its outcomes, it keeps alive the possibility of a single party government.
• It allows voters to make wider and more considered choices, it also allows voters to express personal support for a candidate, while voting for a different party with their second vote.
• Each voter has directly accountable single-consituency representative.
• Every voter has at least one effective role, that is not wasted.
• Lists means excellent proportionality.

Question 14

Disadvantages of the AMS system

Answer 14

• The retention of a single-member consituencies reduces the likelihood of maximum proportionality.
• Consituency representation is less effective than FPTP, because of the larger size of consituencies and because proportion of representatives have no consituency duties.
• Confusion is created by having two classes of representative, many representatives are accountable to party leadership rather than voters.
• AMS sometimes gives rise to ‘overhang’ seats, where a party wins more seats via their consituency vote than it is entitled to according to its proportional vote.

Question 15

EXAMPLE Advantages of the AMS system - Proportional

Answer 15

• In the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections the SNP won 45% fo the votes and 49% of the total seats and the conservatives won 23% of the total votes and gained 24% of the seats.
• Before this using the consituency votes the SNP won 47% of the vote and gained 81% of the seats, the conservatives won 22% of the votes and 10% of the seats.

Question 16

EXAMPLE Disadvantages of the AMS system - Not always proportional

Answer 16

In the 2016 Welsh Parliament elections results 2016, 34% of the votes were won by labour, and they ended up winning 48% of the seats. Furthermore the Lib Dems won 9% of the total votes but only managed 2% of the seats.

Question 17

EXAMPLE Advantages of the AMS system - Keeps alive the single party majority government possibility

Answer 17

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections the SNP won a majority, winning 69 seats and 53.5% of the total votes.

Question 18

EXAMPLE Disadvantage of the AMS System - Usually results in a weak government with no majority

Answer 18

SInce 2011 a majority has not be won at the Scottish parliament elections, there has never been a majority government in the Welsh Parliament elections using the AMS systems.

Question 19

EXAMPLE Advantages of the AMS system - Smaller Party Representation

Answer 19

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election The Green party and Liberal Democrats won 11 seats between them and 9 percent of all seats.

Question 20

STV

Answer 20

Single Transferable vote

Used in Northern Ireland Assemby and in Northern Ireland and Scotland for the local government.
- There are multimember consituencies
- Political parties are able to put as many candidates as there are seats to fill in each consituency.
- Electors vote preferentially
- Candidates are alected if they achieve a quota of votes, this is calculated on the basis of the droop formula.

Total number of votes cast/number of seats to be filled plus 1
PLUS 1
- Votes are counted according to first preferences, if any candidate achieves the qouta their additional votes are counted according to second preferences.
- If this process still leaves some seats fulfilled, the candidate with the fewest votes drops out and their votes are redistributed according to second preferences.

Question 21

Advantages of STV

Answer 21

• The system is capable of achieving highly proportional outcomes.
• The availability of several members means that consituents can choose who to take their grievances, much better representation.
• STV gives voters much greater choice, you rank every candidate.
• Fewer votes are wasted under STV.
• Under STV there are no safe seats, meaning candidates cannot be compalcement and have to campaign everywhere.
• No tactical voting

Question 22

EXAMPLE Advantages of STV - Proportional outcomes

Answer 22

2017 Northern Ireland Assemby election, the DUP won 31% of the seats and 28.1% of the first preference votes, Sinn Fein won 30% of the seats and 27.9% of the votes. Finally the Alliance won 9% of the seats and 9% of the votes.

Question 23

EXAMPLE Advantages of STV - Good representation

Answer 23

The Northern Ireland assemby is divided into 18 multi member constituencies, each one of these elects 5 Assemby members. Meaning there are just over 40,000 people per consituent.

Question 24

Disadvantages of STV

Answer 24

• Strong and stable single-party government is unlikely under STV.
• In sparsely poppulated areas such as Scotland, STV would lead to very large constiuencies, NI population is 5 million, the UKs is 67 million, this would result in relatively poor representation. Who takes accountability, not clear?
• STV has been known to experience ‘Donkey Voting’ where candidates vote in the order they see on the ballot.

Question 25

EXAMPLE Disadvantages of STV - Strong and stable majority government is unlikely.

Answer 25

DUP and Sinn Fein in the 2017 NI assemby election won 31% and 30% of the seats.

In 2011 the DUP won government again but not with a majority, winning just 42% of the seats.

In 2022 Sinn Fein won 27 seats and the DUP only won 25 seats.

Question 26

EXAMPLE Disadvantages of STV - Complicated, Donkey Voting, Spoiled balots.

Answer 26

• According to the electoral office of northern ireland (EONI), in the 2011 NI assemby elections there were over 12,000 balot papers rejected as spoiled.
• In 2016 the number was 9,000, this is double the number at the 2017 general election using FPTP.

Question 27

FPTP

Answer 27

• Used for elections in the House of Commons and England and Wales for local government
• It is a consituency system, there are 650 single-member parliamentary consituencies.
• Voters select a single candidate, this reflects the principle of ‘one person, one vote’
• Consituencies are roughly equal in poppulation size and returns one single candidate. ‘Winner takes all’.
• The winning candidate only needs a plurality, the winner is therefore the one with the most votes in the consituency.

Question 28

Refferendum

Answer 28

This is a vote in which the electorate can express a view on a particular issues of public policy, it is therefore a device of direct democracy also used in representative democracys.

Question 29

Strong and stable government is the main argument for FPTP

Answer 29

I would argue that FTPT is fit for purpose as it can deliver strong, stable and efficient government with large majorities, other electoral systems would not offer this to such as extent.

Only 3 times since 1945 has there been a hung parliament, where the sitting government has not won a majority. For example in 1997 Tony Blairs labour government won a 179 seat majority. This meant that his government could legislate and govern efficiently, so they can carry out their manifesto promises that they were voted on, he was only defeated for the first time in the commons in 2005, 8 years after he was elected.

In 1997 the labour manifesto involved reducing hereditary peers in the House of Lords, due to his large majority he was able to pass the House of Lords act 1999 340-132 despite huge opposition in the Lords.

Furthermore Boris Johnson was only defeated 3 timed in his majority government between 2019 and 2022.

Minority governments seek legislative support from other parties in order to follow through on their manifesto.

Question 30

Strong and stable government is not a good argument for FPTP

Answer 30

However this is the main argument why FPTP is fit for purpose and therefore it is important to note that this is not always going to be the case and FPTP will not always ensure that the governing party has a majority and is therefore unable to carry out effective policy and follow through on their manifestos.

May was defeated 33 times in two years in the house of commons and she lost two votes on her EU withdrawal agreement. With a minority government, this proves that policy making can be very ineffective. May was also defeated in the UKSC, in R v secretary of state for the EU the UKSC ruled that the government could not trigger article 50 without parliament approval, she failed to have a majority and therefore could not push through her Brexit deal.

The conservative manifesto in 2017 specifically said that there would be a Vote in both Houses of Parliament on “final agreement” for Brexit.

In 2010 general election David Cameron and the conservative party only won 306 out of the 650 total seats in the commons, this meant they had a minority government and were forced into a coalition with the liberal democrats in order to ensure a majority governance.

AMS system has showed that it is capable of return strong and stable governing majorities, in the 2007 Welsh Assembly elections Labour and Plaid Cymru formed a working majority with 55% of the chamber.

This shows that FPTP does not RELIABLY result in effective governance, and due to its other flaws it is not fit for purpose.

Question 31

Representation means FPTP is fit for purpose

Answer 31

Constituent system used in FPTP means there is very strong constituent representation.

There are 533 constituencies in England and the average population size, the average constituent size for the UK is 73,181. This means that MPs have a relatively small number of people that they can focus on, meaning they can undergo local representation and effectively represent the views.

They meet regularly at ‘surgeries’ and represent their concerns in parliament and deal with their grievances.

The growth of social media has also meant that constituents can express their concerns directly to their local MP, this view will then be represented in parliament. This occurred with gay marriage legislation in 2013, air strikes in Syria in 2016 when a twitter campaign led to many MPS reconsidering their votes.

FPTP has returned 2 female PMs, showing that the system allows for representation within government.

Question 32

Representation FPTP is better in other systems

Answer 32

Constituent representation is not something that Is limited to FPTP, for example the AMS system reserves this link, in the Scottish parliament elections that are a total of 73 constituencies. Furthermore using the Supplementary vote the FPTP constituent system would remain, and in STV and NI there are 18 multi member constituencies with 5 members each.

Furthermore using FPTP there will be many wasted votes, Wasted votes are seen as those cast for losing candidates, and for winning candidates in excess of the number required for victory. For example, in the UK general election of 2005, 52% of votes were cast for losing candidates and 18% were excess votes—a total of 70% “wasted” votes. This leads to a unrepresentative outcome.

There is very poor representation of small parties in FPTP, for example in 2015 UKIP won 12.6% of the vote but failed to win a seat, this is because they couldn’t gain enough support in a single

constituency area, maintains the two party system, therefore allows for poor representation, whereas the labour party won 30% of the vote and 232 seats.

After the implementation of AMS in 2003 female representation in the Welsh and Scottish assembly stood at 50% and 40%, whereas in the commons it was only 18% and even now is only 34%.

Question 33

Turnout and participation and therefore government legitamcy is better using FPTP

Answer 33

FPTP has consistently returned relatively high turnout in its elections and has not once dropped below 50%, with 67% of people voting in the 2019 election. Furthermore the electoral system solidified is legitimacy in 2011 when 67% of people voted to keep it.

AMS turnout has never risen above 50% in the UK, the 2002 Welsh Assembly elections only received a turnout of 38%.

Therefore the government created in the FPTP will be more legitimate than one created using another electoral system, still fit for purpose.

Question 34

Other systems record better turnout than FPTP

Answer 34

This argument is weak and STV capable of returning high turnout. For example the 2017 Northern Ireland assembly election returned a turnout of 64% and 63% in 2022. This is not only consistent with FPTP.

Down to what the election is and not the electoral system that is used.

No party has won over 50% of the vote since 1931 and results tend to be hugely disproportionate, making for illegitimate government.

In the 2015 general election the governing party won 50.8% of the seats and had a majority, although they only won 36% of the popular vote. Furthermore in 2019 the conservatives won 56% of the seats and again only 43% of the vote.

In 1997 Tony Blair won 63% of the seats in the election but only 43% of the popular vote.

Using STV in the Northern Ireland assembly elections in 2017, the DUP won 31% of the seats and 28% of the first preference votes. Whilst turnout being 64%.