Electoral Systems

Question 1

Examples of minor party success at general elections:

Answer 1

2019- SNP won 48/59 Scottish seats at general election

Question 2

Example of safe seat (per party)

Answer 2

• Labour, Liverpool Walton since 1964
• Conservatives, Hertsmere since 1983

Question 3

Examples of marginal seats:

Answer 3

Kensington (2017- Labour, 20 vote majority) (2019- Tories, 150 vote majority)

Question 4

Number of seats estimated as safe seats:

Answer 4

Electoral reform society estimates 364 seats as safe (56%)

Question 5

Number of votes wasted in 2019

Answer 5

Electoral reform society estimated 22 million

Question 6

Example of ‘electoral deserts’

Answer 6

Areas of the country where a party cannot win seats- South East for Labour

Question 7

Power sharing of STV going wrong:

Answer 7

N.Ireland executive suspended 2002-2007
-broke down in 2017 - 2020

Question 8

Example of STV being proportional

Answer 8

2016- Sinn Fein won 23% of seats with 24% of votes

Question 9

Sizes of constituencies varying

Answer 9

Average size of constituency- 70,000
Isle of Wight - 113,000

Question 10

Example of FPTP candidate winning with less than 50% of the vote

Answer 10

2005- Tony Blair re-elected on 35% of the vote

Question 11

Example of SV providing a clear mandate

Answer 11

Sadiq Khan- 2016 got 56% of votes by 2nd round

Question 12

Example of AMS providing higher levels of representation for smaller parties Wales

Answer 12

2016- Welsh Assembly, UKIP won 7 top-up seats but 0 constituency seats

Question 13

Higher representation of smaller parties under STV

Answer 13

2015- under STV, UKIP would’ve won 54 seats

Question 14

Example of MP winning constituency with under 50% of the vote

Answer 14

2015- Alisdair McDonnel won Belfast South with only 24.5% of the vote

Question 15

Example of extremist parties being hindered by FPTP

Answer 15

2010- BNP got over 500k votes , with zero seats

Question 16

Example of extremist party success in other elections

Answer 16

2008- BNP received two seats in the European Parliament

Question 17

Example of FPTP producing weak parliament

Answer 17

2010- David Cameron only had a 7% lead over Labour

Question 18

EU referendum

Answer 18

Voted leave 52% to 48%
Turnout- 72%

Question 19

AV referendum

Answer 19

Voted to not reform 67%
Turnout- 41%

Question 20

Devolution referendums 1997 & 1998

Answer 20

• 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum
• 1997 Scottish devolution referendum
• 2011 Welsh devolution referendum

Question 21

Example of referendums legitimising government decisions

Answer 21

2011- referendum to extend the powers of the Welsh Assembly
TURNOUT 35%

Question 22

Example of government choosing not to hold referendum

Answer 22

Blair and Brown denied the electorate a say on the Lisbon Treaty (2007), which increased European integration

Question 23

Brexit referendum being influenced by outside sources

Answer 23

Ad influence, including the promotion of misinformation through russian state-sponsored media outlets such as RT and Sputnik

Question 24

Example of AMS working in favour of major parties (wales)

Answer 24

2021- Labour won 30/60 (50%) seats in Welsh Assembly elections

Question 25

Referendums possibly challenging parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 25

Estimated that 73% of MP’s opposed Brexit BUT in 2017 the HoC voted to allow government to open negotiations to leave the EU

Question 26

Evidence that suggests FPTP has advantaged major parties

Answer 26

5 out of 7 elections have produced majoritarian governments

Question 27

Evidence that FPTP is unpopular

Answer 27

According to a British Social Attitudes survey in 2022, 66% want to reform FPTP

Question 28

Evidence that AMS produces weak governments

Answer 28

5 out of 6 elections have been minority governments

Question 29

Evidence that SV is unpopular

Answer 29

turnout
2021- Police + Crime Commissioners election was 33.2%
2022- London Mayoral- 42%

Question 30

Evidence that STV produces weak governments

Answer 30

0 out 6 elections have produced majority governments