electoral systems

Question 1

safe seat

Answer 1

the same political party retains the seat election to election

Question 2

marginal seat

Answer 2

seat which swaps between political parties each election

Question 3

minority government

Answer 3

government that enters office without a majority of seats

Question 4

coalition government

Answer 4

a government that is formed by more than one political party

Question 5

how many constituencies are there in the UK?

Answer 5

650

Question 6

how do the constituency boundaries change?

Answer 6

by the boundaries commission, independent from government

Question 7

what electoral system is used in the UK?

Answer 7

first past the post

Question 8

what electoral system is used in Scotland?

Answer 8

AMS (additional member system)

Question 9

what electoral system is used in Wales?

Answer 9

AMS (additional member system)

Question 10

what electoral system is used in Northern Ireland?

Answer 10

STV (single transferable vote)

Question 11

what electoral system is sued to elect mayors?

Answer 11

SV (supplementary vote)

Question 12

why did new labour introduce different electoral systems after winning the election?

Answer 12

they spent 18 years in opposition to labour and wanted to prevent it from happening again. they wanted to modernise democracy in the UK

Question 13

did labour benefit in 1997 with the FPTP system?

Answer 13

yes, won 418 seats

Question 14

what % of Labour Party delegates voted in favour of embracing PR?

Answer 14

80%

Question 15

what type of system is FPTP?

Answer 15

plurality

Question 16

what does it mean if a system is a plurality system?

Answer 16

only need one more vote than those in second to win

Question 17

what are the outcomes of FPTP in terms seats?

Answer 17

safe seats and marginal seats

Question 18

what was the safest seat in 2019 and what was the %?

Answer 18

Liverpool Walton labour 74.8% majority

Question 19

in safe seats, is the turnout low or high?

Answer 19

typically low as the results are usually forgone conclusions

Question 20

what was the most marginal seat in 2019 and what was the majority?

Answer 20

Fermanagh and South Tyrone 0.11% 57 votes!!!

Question 21

in marginal seats, is the turnout higher or lower?

Answer 21

higher

Question 22

what are the outcomes of the two part system due to FPTP?

Answer 22

• two parties competing for office
• small parties disadvantaged

Question 23

is concentrated support important under FPTP?

Answer 23

yes, it is needed to win a seat

Question 24

in 2019, what % of the votes and seats did the conservative party win?

Answer 24

43.6% of the votes
56.2% of the seats

Question 25

in 2019, what % of the votes and seats did the Green Party win?

Answer 25

2.7% of the votes 0.2% of the seats (one seat)

Question 26

in 2019, what % of the votes and seats did Brexit party win?

Answer 26

2% of the votes 0% of the seats

Question 27

what type of government does FPTP result in?

Answer 27

single party majority governments

Question 28

how many elections since WW2 haven't resulted in a single party majority government?

Answer 28

3 - 1974, 2010, and 2017

Question 29

what are the advantaged of FPTP?

Answer 29

- strong MP-constituency link and good representation - clear outcomes with strong stable government - responsible government which is held accountable - prevents extremist parties

Question 30

how does FPTP deny voters choice?

Answer 30

only one candidate per party, if a voter doesn't vote for their candidate, they are forced to vote for another party they may disagree with

Question 31

what % of the votes and seats did Sinn Fein win in 2022?

Answer 31

29% of the votes 30% of the seats

Question 32

what % of the votes and seats did DUP win in 2022?

Answer 32

21% of the votes 27% of the seats

Question 33

what was the turnout of the 2022 Northern Irish Assembly?

Answer 33

62.8%

Question 34

what has the DUP refused to sign with Sinn Fein?

Answer 34

the power share agreement

Question 35

how many seats did SNP win in 2021?

Answer 35

64

Question 36

who are the SNP is coalition with currently?

Answer 36

Green Party (8 seats)

Question 37

in the 2019 General election, what % of votes and Scottish seats did SNP win?

Answer 37

45% of the votes 81% of the seats

Question 38

who has the majority in Senedd Cymru?

Answer 38

Labour, 30 seats

Question 39

how many seats to Plaid Cymru have in Senedd?

Answer 39

13