Electoral Systems

Question 1

functions of elections

Answer 1

• representation (MP’s represent the UK)
• forming a new government
• gives the government legitimacy
• peaceful transfer of power from old government to a new government
• holding the government to account (accountability)
• education of the population (people pay attention to politics in the leadup to an election)
• participation
• influence over policy
• elite recruitment - gives MP’s opportunities to get to elite positions

Question 2

what should free and fair elections be

Answer 2

• competitive
• free elections - freedom of speech and association
• one person, one vote

Question 3

elections in the UK

Answer 3

General Elections - elect all 650 MP’s (including PM). Happen every 5 years.
Elections to the devolved assemblies - held every 5 years, elections for Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and Northern Irish Assembly
Local Elections (mayors, police commissioners etc.) - held for 4 years
By-elections - if an MP resigns/ dies a by-election is held to determine a new MP for that constituency

Question 4

what are the electoral systems

Answer 4

Majoritarian System - the winning candidate must win an absolute majority of the vote (i.e. 50% + 1)
Plurality System - FPTP is a single-member plurality system in which the winner needs only a plurality of votes (i.e. one more than their closest rival)
Proportional Representation (PR) - this system produces a close fit between votes and seats (i.e. 40% of votes = 40% of seats)
Mixed System - combines elements of the plurality or majoritarian system with elements of proportional representation

Question 5

what is a ‘Safe Seat’

Answer 5

when the same party wins a constituency over and over again. rarely changing. (However, in 2024 many Tory safe seats were lost to Labour and Lib Dems)

Question 6

what is a ‘Marginal Seat’

Answer 6

a constituency where the party has a small majority so may be won by a different party next election

Question 7

what is ‘Turnout’

Answer 7

the percentage of registered voters who voted at an election

Question 8

what is ‘Swing’

Answer 8

the extent of change in support for one party to another party from one election to another election

Question 9

what is ‘Electoral Efficiency’

Answer 9

getting the highest number of seats with the lowest votes

Question 10

what is ‘Working Majority’

Answer 10

the MP’s who can actually get in to parliament to vote (if someone was sick they couldn’t come in)

Question 11

what is a ‘Minority Government’

Answer 11

a government consisting of members of one political party which does not have an absolute majority of seats

Question 12

what is a ‘Coalition Government’

Answer 12

a government consisting of two or more political parties, usually with an absolute majority of seats in parliament, formed after an agreement on policy and ministerial posts

Question 13

what is a ‘Majority Government’

Answer 13

a government consisting of members of one political party which has an absolute majority of seats

Question 14

what is the ‘Supplementary Vote’ system

Answer 14

Used to elect mayors and police and crime commissioners:
- The voter records their first and second preferences on the ballot paper (they don’t have to record a second choice if they don’t want to)
- If no candidate wins a majority of first preferences, all but the top two candidates are eliminated and the second preference votes for the two remaining candidates are added to their first preference votes.
- The candidate with the highest total is elected

Question 15

Advantages of the ‘Supplementary Vote’

Answer 15

• The candidate must achieve broad support giving them legitimacy
• Small party voters (Green/Reform UK) use their first preference to express their allegiance and their second preference to indicate which major party candidate (Labour/Tory) they prefer.
• The votes of people who use both their first and second preferences to support minor parties do not influence the election outcome

Question 16

disadvantages of the ‘Supplementary Vote’

Answer 16

• The winning candidate may be elected without winning a majority of votes
• The system would not deliver a proportional outcome if used for general elections
• The least unpopular, rather than most popular, candidate may be elected

Question 17

what is the ‘Single Transferable Vote’ system

Answer 17

Used in Northern Ireland for assembly elections:
- Representatives are elected in large multi-member constituency. In northern Ireland assembly elections, 18 constituencies each elect 6 members
- Voting is preferential – electors indicate their preferences by writing ‘1…2…3…etc’ next to each candidate
- Voting is ordinal – electors can vote for as many or as few candidates as they like
- A candidate must reach a quota in order to be elected. Any votes in excess of this quota are redistributed on the basis of second preferences.
- If no candidate reaches the quota on the first count, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their second preferences are transferred. This continues until the number of seats is filled by candidates meeting the quota.

Question 18

Advantages of the ‘Single Transferable Vote’

Answer 18

• It delivers proportional outcomes and ensures that votes are largely of equal value
• The government is likely to consist of a party or group of parties that win over 50% of the vote
• Voters choose between a range of candidates, including different candidates from the same party, meaning there is a greater choice

Question 19

Disadvantages of the ‘Single Transferable Vote’

Answer 19

• It can be less accurate in translating votes into seats than proportional representation list systems
• Large multi-member constituencies weaken the link between individual MP’s and their constituency
• It is likely to produce a coalition government that may be unstable and can give disproportional influence to minor parties that hold the balance of power
• The counting process is lengthy and complex

Question 20

what is the ‘Additional Member System’

Answer 20

a mixed electoral system which includes elements of FPTP and the regional list system of proportional representation (used to elect the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, London Assembly, General Elections in Germany:
- A proportion of seats in the legislative assembly are elected using FPTP in single-member constituencies: 73/129 members (57%) of Scottish Parliament and 40/60 (67%) of Welsh Assembly were elected this way
- A smaller number of representatives, known as additional members are elected in multi-member constituencies using the regional list system of proportional representation. This is used to elect 56/129 (43%) members of Scottish Assembly and 20/60 (33%) members of Welsh Assembly
- Electors cast 2 votes: one for their favoured candidate in a single-member and one for their favoured party from a closed party list in a multi-member constituency
- For the regional list seats, political parties draw up a list of their candidates and decide the order in which they will be elected. It is a closed list system meaning electors can only vote for a party or an independent candidate. The list of candidates for each party appears on each ballot paper, but electors cannot choose between candidates representing the same party. (in an open list system, voters can choose between candidates from the same party)
- Regional list seats (additional members) are allocated on a corrective basis to ensure that the total number of seats for parties in the assembly is proportional to the number of votes won. So a party that has won a disproportionally high number of constituency seats may not win many list seats, even if it also polls more list votes than other parties.
- The total number of votes for each party is divided by the number of seats it already has, plus the next seat to be allocated. So the party totals are divided first by 1 (0 seats plus 1), then by 2 (1 seat plus 1) and so on. The first seat goes to the party with the largest number, the next seat to the next highest number, and so on. Candidates are elected in the order they appear on the party list.
- To win seats in the London Assembly, a party must also pass a threshold of 5% of the vote. There is no threshold for Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections.

Question 21

Advantages of the ‘Additional Member System’

Answer 21

• It combines the best features of FPTP and proportional representation, e.g. balancing the desirability of constituency representation with that fairness of outcomes.
• Results are broadly proportional and votes are less likely to be wasted.
• Voters have greater choice. Split-ticket voting is allowed.
• Some parties have used the system to improve their representation of women: e.g. by ‘zipping’ – alternating male and female candidates on party lists.
• Votes are easy to count and it is not difficult for voters to understand how the outcome is reached.

Question 22

Disadvantages of the ‘Additional Member System’

Answer 22

• It creates two categories of representative, one with constituency duties and one without. This may create tensions within the legislative assembly.
• Parties have significant control over the closed lists used to elect additional members and voters cannot choose between candidates from the same party
• Smaller parties are often under-represented because in many multi-member seats, only a few representatives are elected. Larger parties are also over-represented if other votes are split evenly between many small parties.
• Proportional outcomes are less likely where the number of additional members is low, as in the Welsh Assembly.

Question 23

what is a ‘Closed List System’

Answer 23

voters choose parties not candidates. The parties determine the order in which candidates appear on the list.

Question 24

what is an ‘Open List System’

Answer 24

voters choose a candidate who aligns with a party or are independent