Electoral Systems Flashcards
What are the functions of elections?
Representation
Choosing the government
Holding a government to account
Participation
Influence over policy
Functions of elections - Representation
Most fundamental purpose is to choose a representative to speak on behalf of a community and to provide a link between them and those who make decisions on their behalf
MPs are said to be ‘trustees’ who have the autonomy to speak and vote as they see fit in the interests of their constituency
They are entitled to think independently in changing circumstances
Functions of elections - choosing government
At a general election, voters are choosing a government and granting it legitimacy. The leader of the part who wins the most seats has the right to form the government
Functions of elections - holding a government to account
Government has to face the electorate at an election to renew its mandate to govern. Voters have the right to reject an unpopular government that is perceived to have failed
Functions of elections - 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 don’t read them, or may mistrust the promises politicians make
Functions of elections - influence over policy
Voters have limited influence over the policies that political parties put before them.
Election defeats send messages to parties to not persist with unpopular policies
Elections also allow small parties, who do not have the power to form government to put their views across and draw attention to issues they stand for
What are the important criteria in judging voting systems?
- A fair result that gives as far as possible euqal value to people’s votes across the country
- A choice of candidates
- An effective link between the elected representative and constituency
- A strong government that can pass laws but can be held to account by the electorate
What is first past the post?
Candidate with the largest number of votes is elected. Victory is achieved by having at least one more vote than other contenders. The party who wins the most seats forms the government
What are the advantages of FPTP?
- Speed and simplicity: easy to use as voters make a single choice, and the result is usually known early in the morning after polling day. This allows a swift and orderly transfer of power (exception is 2010, where it took 5 days for a result because of coalition).
- Strong and stable government: FPTP tends to promote a 2 party system which gives voters a clear choice, and tends to give a clear majority
- Exclusion of extremists: although it underrepresents smaller parties, this means that extremist parties are less likely to gain a foothold
- Strong links between MPs and Constituents: relatively small size of most constituencies and the fact that a single MP is responsible for representing those that live there is a strength, MPs handle correspondence from their constituents and hold surgeries at which they make themselves available to those seeking help and advice
What are the disadvantages of FPTP?
- MPs can be elected on less than 50% of the vote (over 1/2 of MPs typically do not command majority support)
- At national level; produces governments elected on a minority of the popular vote, e.g. Blair on 35.2% in 2005, which weakens the mandate and lacks legitimacy
- Lack of proportionality; doesn’t translate the number of votes into seats for each party, and the system favours parties whose vote is concentrated rather than those whose support is spread across a large geographical area
- The winner’s bonus; winning party enjoys a share of seats in excess of their vote share
- Limited voter choice; each party only puts forward one candidate, safe seats mean many have no chance of seeing a preferred candidate win
- Votes have unequal value; votes usually count for more in a small constituency than in a large one
What are safe seats?
Constituencies in which the sitting MP has a secure majority over the nearest rival, and is largely immune from swings in voting choice
What are marginal seats?
Seats held by a small majority, where a small swing to an opposition candidate can cause the seat to change hands
How does the Additional Member System (AMS) work?
- Voters have 2 votes; one for a constituency representative, elected using FPTP, the second for a arty Lise and used multi-member regional constituencies, introducing an element of PR
- In the Welsh Assembly; 40 members represent single member constituencies, 20 are list members
- Scottish Parliament; 73 single member, 56 list members
- GLA; 14 single member, 11 list member
- These bodies have 4 year foxed terms
- Top up component introduces a proportional element
What are the advantages of AMS?
- Proportional element
- FPTP component maintains strong links between members and constituencies
- Wider choice than under FPTP; people can vote for a ‘split ticket’ if they wish
What are the disadvantages of AMS?
- Creates 2 types of members
- closed list system - party leaders rank the candidates and can use this to limit chances of dissident members
- smaller parties achieve less representation than in a fully proportional system
What is Single Transferrable Vote (STV)?
- Used in Northern Ireland, primarily to ensure the power sharing agreement works in practice
- 18 constituencies and each has 5 members
- Voters number their choice
- In order to be elected each candidate needs to reach a quite - if a candidate reaches this on the first round of counting, they are elected, and their 2nd preferences redistributed. If no one reaches the quota, the least popular candidate is eliminated and this process is continued until all seats are filled
Advantages of STV
- Close correlation between votes and seats
- Lots of choice; possible to choose between candidates from the same party
- created power sharing in NI, which enabled unionists and nationalists to work together
Disadvantages of STV
- Not fully proportional, particularly where smaller multi member constituencies are used
- In large multi-member constituencies, the link between the voter and the member might be weak
- Power sharing governments are prone to conflict
What is Supplementary Vote (SV)?
- Used to elected Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners
- Each voter is allowed a first and second preference
- Any candidate who gains more then 50% of first preference votes is elected automatically
- If this doesn’t occur, all candidates except the top 2 are eliminated. Second preference votes for these candidates are then added to produce the overall winner
Advantages of SV
- Ensures broad support for the winner
- Simple and straightforward
- Has allowed independent candidates to win
Disadvantages of SV
- Not proportional as only one winner
- winner doesn’t need absolute majority
- Voters need to be able to identify the likely top 2 candidates to have any influence over the outcome
The Brexit referendum
- Cameron clearly supported remain, and this meant that many people voted leave because they didn’t like Cameron
- 52% voted Leave 48% Remain
- Most referendums are advisory, but for Brexit the government said ‘what you want we will do’
- There was a clash between direct and representative democracy as many MPs wanted to remain, but public voted to leave
What were referendums?
A vote on a particular issue, usually requiring a a yes/no answer
How do elections in the UK work?
- Referendums were unknown in the UK until 1973 when Northern Ireland voters were asked if they wanted to stay in the UK
- The first UK wide referendum was held in 1975 and was about whether the electorate wanted to stay in the EEC
- There is now an expectation that referendums will be called when an important, possibly irreversible constitutional change is contemplated
- Since 2000 the conduct of referendums has been regulated by the Electoral Commission; they check the wording of the question to ensure it is as objective as possible
