electoral systems Flashcards
what is a mandate
Electoral mandate refers to the authority a party gains from winning an election. Winning an election gives the party legitimacy and a mandate to govern.
A mandate grants permission to act or produce legislation in accordance with the promise or manifesto offered for consideration and choice at election.
As such winning parties in election claim they have a mandate or authority to introduce legislation as it has popular support from the electorate
how do elections promote democracy
Elections educate the public as political parties try to explain current issues and how they would deal with them if voted into office.
Popular participation is a core feature of democracy and elections encourage participation at various levels.
Elections also offer the electorate choice. Instead of having elections where only a single party can stand, as in China, in the UK the electorate can choose between many different parties.
Through elections, MPs are individually and government is collectively responsible to the people. This ensures they are all acting in the interests of the electorate rather than just to further their own aims.
Political changeover via elections ensures that there is a peaceful change. Democracy requires that those who have lost an election accept the authority of those who have won.
Elections are the ultimate expression of the popular will. In a representative system they are the occasion when the people are able to show a preference between different candidates, parties and political programmes or ideologies.
how do elections not promote democracy
Elections can fail to educate the wider electorate; it rather misinforms them with biased facts and propaganda.
Elections are also a form of indirect democracy, and take decision-making away from the people. There is no guarantee that politicians will abide by their mandate.
Misleading - In the run-up to the 2010 general election, for example, the Lib Dems pledged not to raise tuition fees. However, after joining the Conservative Party in coalition government, 27 Lib Dem MPs voted to increase fees. It was later discovered they had planned to abandon this pledge before the election.
At general elections, it is accepted that the winning party has a mandate to carry out its manifesto. However, elections do not indicate which aspects of a manifesto the voters approve of.
It could be said that the choices presented at elections are largely an illusion because there are so few differences between the main parties. Democracy in Britain today is much more a case of pluralist group politics than party politics
explain representation function of elections
The most fundamental purpose of elections at all levels – local, regional and
national – is to choose a representative to speak on behalf of a community and to provide a
link between them and those who take decisions on their behalf. MPs are said to be ‘trustees’ –
individuals in whom voters place their trust – who have autonomy to speak and vote as they see
fi t in the interests of their constituency. They are entitled to think independently in response
to changing circumstances. Following the Burkean theory of representation, MPs are not mere
‘delegates’ – people sent to speak and act with a predetermined agenda to replicate the views
and wishes of others.
The representative function is complicated in the Westminster system by pressure from the
party leadership to support an agreed line. The promise of government posts, which are at
the disposal of the prime minister, may infl uence ambitious MPs. But MPs who displease their
constituents can be removed by the voters at the next general election.
explain the choice of government responsibility of elections
At a general election voters are choosing a government and
granting it legitimacy. The leader of the party that wins the largest number of seats has the
right to form a government. With ‘fi rst past the post’ this is usually a straightforward matter
– the winning party normally commands a working majority of MPs, outnumbering all the
other parties in the House of Commons put together. However, recent elections have seen a
couple of exceptions to this. The 2010 general election left the Conservatives 20 seats short of
a majority, which saw them enter into a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Again in 2017 the
Conservatives were eight seats short of a majority and so agreed a more informal arrangement
with the Democratic Unionist Party
explain the election function to hold the government to account
Usually, every 5 years a government has to face the
electorate at a general election in order to renew its mandate to govern. The voters have the
right to reject an unpopular government that is perceived to have failed. Individual MPs can also
be held to account for their performance. Following the revelations of abuse of parliamentary
expenses in 2009, a number of MPs stood down rather than face the voters at the general
election the following year.
Since 2015 the Recall of MPs Act has strengthened the power of voters to remove MPs who have
behaved poorly. If an MP is sentenced to a prison sentence, or is suspended from the Commons
for more than 21 days, a by-election is triggered if at least 10 per cent of constituents sign a
recall petition.
explain election function of participation
Voting in elections is the most obvious way ordinary people can take part in
politics. Party manifestos provide information on which voters can make a judgement, although
many people do not read them, or they mistrust the promises politicians make. The information
provided may be misleading. For example, the 2001 Labour manifesto stated ‘we will not
introduce “top-up” fees (for university tuition) and have legislated to prevent them’. There was
outrage from students, and many Labour MPs, after the election when the government decided
to increase fees from their previous level of £1,000 per annum.
explain election function of influence over policy
Voters have limited influence over the policies that political parties
put before them. However, election defeats do send a message to parties not to persist with
unpopular policies. Labour’s catastrophic defeat in the 1983 general election, followed by
a slightly less disastrous performance in 1987, led the party leadership gradually to drop
unpopular policies and move towards the centre ground.
Elections also allow small parties, which cannot hope to form a government, to put their views
across. This enables them to draw attention to the issues they stand for, and sometimes to
influence the larger parties to adopt some of their policies. For example, the increased public
profile of the Greens in the 1990s was one reason why other parties began to emphasise the
importance of countering climate change.
how should voting systems be judged
a fair result that gives, as far as possible, equal value to people’s votes across the country
* a choice of candidates
* an effective link between the elected representative and the constituency
* a strong government that can pass laws but can be held to account by the electorate.
No electoral system will deliver all of these to the same degree. It is a question of deciding which of
these features you consider to be the most important.
what is first past the post system
The voting system used for UK general elections and by-elections, and local council elections in England and Wales
Voters cast a single vote by placing a
cross next to the name of their preferred candidate. FPTP is a simple plurality system – the person
with the largest number of votes in a constituency (or seat) is elected. The winner does not have
to gain a majority of the votes cast. The party with the largest number of seats (not necessarily
a majority of the votes cast across the country) has the right to form a government.
what are advantages of first past the post
Speed and simplicity: FPTP is easy to use, with voters making a single cross and choosing
one candidate. The result is usually known early in the morning after polling day and a new
government is rapidly formed, allowing a swift and orderly transfer of power. The May 2010
general election was an exception, when negotiations between the prospective parties of
government did not produce a result for 5 days. (After the 2010 general election in Belgium, which uses a
proportional system, it took almost 18 months to form a government.
Strong and stable government: FPTP tends to promote a two-party system, which gives voters
a clear choice. At general elections it usually gives a clear majority to one party, which then has
a mandate to carry out its programme. The government can be removed at the next general
election if the voters disapprove of its record. For example, it enabled Margaret Thatcher to carry
out her plans for the reduction of trade union power and privatisation in the 1980s, and allowed
Tony Blair to undertake extensive constitutional reforms after his 1997 victory.
Exclusion of extremists: Although critics of FPTP point to the way it under-represents smaller
parties, the advantage of this is that extreme parties – which may feed on racism, xenophobia
and other extremist views – are much less likely to gain a foothold.
A strong link between MPs and their constituencies: The relatively small size of most FPTP
constituencies, and the fact that a single MP is responsible for representing those who live within
the constituency, are often seen as strengths. MPs handle correspondence from their constituents
and hold surgeries at which they make themselves available to those seeking help and advice.
disadvantages of first past the post
MPs and governments can be elected on less than 50 per cent of the vote: More than half
of MPs typically do not command majority support within their constituency. This is because
they do not need an overall majority of the votes cast, but can win by gaining just one more
vote than the second placed candidate. It is quite possible for more votes to be cast against
rather than for the winning candidate,
At national level: FPTP regularly produces governments elected on a minority of the popular
vote. The lowest percentage was recorded in 2005, when Tony Blair was re-elected on 35.2 per
cent of the vote. This weakens the mandate enjoyed by the winning party, especially as general
elections since 2001 have been characterised by low voter turnout. This feature means that
significant numbers of voters feel that the system lacks legitimacy.
Lack of proportionality: FPTP does not translate the number of votes into seats for each party
with any real accuracy. The system favours parties whose vote is concentrated, rather than
those whose support is spread across a large geographical area. A party may come second in
a large number of seats, but FPTP does not reward this because only one candidate can win in
each constituency. For example, UKIP won almost 3.9 million votes in 2015, but only one seat.
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The winner’s bonus: The winning party under FPTP enjoys a share of the seats in excess of the share
of the vote it receives. This occurs if a large number of seats are marginal between the two main
parties. For example, in the elections of 1983 and 1987 Margaret Thatcher won majorities of 144 and
102 respectively, on 42 per cent of the vote. In the 2015 election the winner’s bonus was much less
marked, with David Cameron winning only a 12 seat majority, but there was still a mismatch between
votes and seats. The Conservatives won 50.9 per cent of the seats with 36.9 per cent of the vote.
Limited voter choice: FPTP limits the choice for voters in several ways. Each party puts forward
a single candidate, so there is no choice between individuals representing different shades of
opinion within the party. The prevalence of safe seats means that many voters have little hope
of seeing their favoured candidate win. This can depress voter turnout, as people feel that there
is no point in voting for a candidate who cannot hope to be elected, because the same political
party holds the seat in every election.
Votes are of unequal value: In a small constituency a vote usually counts for more than it does
in a larger one. For example, it took only 9407 votes to elect the MP for Orkney and Shetland,
compared to 28,591 for the Isle of Wight MP. Votes are said to be ‘wasted’ if they are cast for a
losing candidate, or if they are cast for a winning candidate, in excess of the plurality needed for
him or her to win. The Electoral Reform Society calculated that 74.4 per cent of votes cast in the
2015 election were wasted, compared to 71.1 per cent in 2010.
what is additional member system
