electoral systems and referendums Flashcards
1
Q
define proportional electoral system
A
calculates the number of MPs or elected representatives by the actual number of votes each party receives
2
Q
define majoritarian electoral system
A
candidate with the highest number of votes in each constituency is elected
3
Q
how does FPTP work?
A
- candidate with largest number of votes in each constituency wins the seat
- runners up receive no electoral reward
- 650 single member constituencies, meaning parties can get lots of votes across the country but have few MPs because of distribution of sed votes
- simple ballot paper, vote for constituency rep
4
Q
how does party list work?
A
- larger constituency area, group of MPs elected that closely represent the constituents views
- would have 26 large constituencies each electing 25 MPs
- parties rank their candidates in each area
- meaning highest ranked candidates (usually leaders or other senior figures) would be almost certain to be elected
5
Q
when was party list used in the UK?
A
for european elections
- divided into 11 regions (eg south east england)
- each region elected between three and ten MEPs
- vote for party
6
Q
advantages of closed party list
A
proportional result
every vote has equal value - no safe seats
simple ballot paper - choose one party
structured to increase diversity of representatives
7
Q
disadvantages of closed party list
A
clear link between MP and constituency broken
limited voter choice - don’t vote for candidate just vote party
power to party leaders who determine party order
likely to result in coalitions
8
Q
advantages of FPTP
A
creates a strong government
strong link between MP and constituency
simple ballot voting for constituency candidate
9
Q
disadvantages of FPTP
A
disproportionate result
can only make one vote on ballot paper
winning candidate needs a simple plurality
10
Q
where is AV used?
A
labour and liberal party leader elections
by-election for hereditary peers
11
Q
how does AV work?
A
- voter numbers candidate in preference
- need 50% for majority
- if no winner, votes redistributed in order of preference of loosing parties until one has a majority of 50%
12
Q
AV advantages
A
- must win majority rather than simple plurality
- theoretically MPs have to campaign more to appeal to more voters
- keeps existing constituency boundaries
- may reduce safe seat numbers
- reduces need for tactical voting
13
Q
disadvantages of AV
A
- could be even less proportional than FPTP result
- may elect the least unpopular, rather than the most popular
- may lead to more coalitions as third parties win more seats
- unequal votes - those voting for loosing parties have their votes counted more times
14
Q
where is SV used?
A
london mayor elections
police and crime commissioner
15
Q
how does SV work?
A
- voters select two candidates out of five options
- candidates finishing 3rd or worse are redistributed to two leading candidates
- reduces wasted votes
16
Q
advantages of SV
A
- MPs need broader support for plurality
- MPs theoretically need to campaign more
- existing constituent boundaries remain
- keeps clear link between MP and constituents
- easy to understand
17
Q
disadvantages of SV
A
- unproportional
- doesnt ensure 50% majority
- voters have to guess top two candidates to ensure no wasted vote
- therefore doesnt elimate tactical voting as they need to decide who the front runners are
18
Q
where is STV used? what does it stand for?
A
single transferable vote
NI assembly, european elections, local government elections
local scottish elections
19
Q
how does STV work?
A
- rank parties in preferential order
- a quota is set based on number of seats and number of votes cast
- once candidate achieved quota number of votes the votes are redistributed to other candidates to avoid wasted votes
- lowest candidates eliminated, their votes redistributed
20
Q
what is alphabetical voting?
A
voting for the party at the top of the list as it is the first one you see due to it being ordered alphabetically
average 9.9% more likely to vote for candidates the higher up the list they are
21
Q
advantages of STV
A
- proportional result
- greater voter choice, select multiple candidates
- fewer wasted votes
- fairer to third parties, eliminates safe seats and need for tactical voting
22
Q
disadvantages of STV
A
- more complicated
- more time consuming
- ballot papers lengthy, making it more confusing for electorate
- possible alphabet voting
- ends MP-constituency link
- possible coalitions
23
Q
where is AMS used?
A
scottish parliament system
24
Q
how does AMS work?
A
- voters have two ballot papers and two votes
- combination of simple plurality and majoritarian systems
- some MPs are elected through single-member constituencies with FPTP
- then some are elected through multi-member constituencies with closed party list
25
what are advantages of AMS?
- more proportional
- retains MP-constituency link
- if constituency vote wasted, regional vote will count
- voter has greater choice
26
disadvantages of AMS
- creates two classes of MPs
- party leader has greater influence
- more complicated, could lead to incorrectly completed ballots
- may create unstable govs
27
simple plurality systems
first past the post
28
majoritarian systems
alternative vote and supplementary vote and fptp
29
proportional systems
closed party list and single transferable vote
30
hybrid systems
additional members system and alternative vote +
31
define referendum
a vote on a single issue put before the electorate by the government usually in the form of a question requiring a yes or no response
32
three reasons for referendums
1. to legitimise or entrench major constitutional changes
2. to ensure public consultation
3. to put proposals to the electorate - avoid making choices on difficult policies
33
turnout for brexit referendum
- 72.2%
34
outcome of brexit referendum
leave
leave = 51.9%
remain = 48.1%
35
arguments supporting the regular use of referendums
- increases direct democracy, giving people a direct say on important matters
- bridges the gap between government and the public
- entrenches change, e.g. good friday agreement
- provides a mandate e.g. brexit/eu
36
arguements against the regular use of referendums
- att odds with representative democracy
- reduced complex issues to a yes no answer
- low turnouts
- expensive, e.g. AV referendum £75m
- government decides the wordings and when to hold the referendum
37
why are elections held?
- to hold the government accountable
- country is able to be democratic
- publics views are represented locally and nationally
- gives government legitimacy
- gives government authority
- participation
38
functions of electoral systems
- participation
- representation
- accountability
- legitimisation
39
what features should voting systems have?
- strong majorities
- proportional
- strong and stable government with mandate
- simple and easy to understand when voting
- representation of the electorate
- maintains a link between constituency voters and their representative
- avoids wasted votes
- provides a genuine choice between parties
40
examples of wasted votes in the whitney constituency
- tory win, 35k
- lab 9k
- ukip 5k
- lib dem 4k
- green 2k
- every vote except tory is wasted
41
what does the jenkins commission require of majoritarian system?
- broadly proportional result
- produces stable government
- gives voter greater choice
- link between MPs and constituents
42
what is a majoritarian system
- a system which the winning candidate must secure an absolute majority of vote - more than 50%
43
when was the 1983 election?
9th june 1983
44
who won the 1983 election?
thatcher
45
seat distribution of 1983 election
tory = 397
labour = 209
sdp-lib alliance = 23
others = 21
46
context of 1983 election
- rising unemployment (over 3 million)
- military victory over argentina 1982 falklands war
47
who led labour in the 1983 election?
micheal foot
48
who led the sdp-liberal alliance in the 1983 election
roy jenkins
49
reason why labour lost in the 1983 election
- divided party
- four left to set up sdp, who later formed an alliance with liberals
50
national swing in 1983 election
3.8% labour to conservative
51
where were regional swings in the 1983 election
southern england
52
what was the effect of the new party sdp-liberal in the 1983 election
- handed previous labour seats to the conservatives
53
economic social class swing 1983 election
- tory had 8% lead over C2 class
54
impact of fptp in the 1983 election
- heavily penalised third parties
- 23% seats in parliament were held by MPs that would not be elected if system was of proportional voting, this figure unbeaten until 2015
- sdp-liberal won 25% vote share, received 23 seats. in comparison to labour who had 27.6% vote share but 209 seats
55
role of media 1983 election
- thatcher had strong media presence
- came across well in interviews
- foot seen as generally less effective
- less adept as sharp, pithy soundbites expected of political figures
56
role of newspapers 1983 election
- sun ‘vote for maggie’
- sun ‘do you seriously want this old man to run britain’ about foot
- right-wing hardened ‘maggie cult’
57
labour manifesto and party policy 1983 election
- ‘new hope for britain’
- split over nuclear disarmament
- withdrawal from eec and abolition of house of lords
- unclear policies/manifesto
- seen too socialist to be realistically chosen
58
conservative party policy and manifesto 1983 election
- trade union reform (secret balloting, political fund for unions)
- retain deterrent, support of nato and tough line against ussr
- seen as radical as foot’s, but thatcher had better and greater control over her party than foot did
59
tory campaigning 1983 election
-journeyed across uk in her ‘superbus’, gained large media coverage and publicity
- evoked victory of falklands war, reminding electorate of previous victories
60
sdp-liberal party policy and manifesto 1983 election
- reduce unemployment drastically
- reformation of electoral system to a proportional system
- devolution to scotland and wales
61
tory leadership campaigning 1983 election
- prior to election, thatcher had made 16 interviews
- every evening did a news bulletin
- resemblance of a presidential election, had charisma and motivation
- every event was ticketed and invitation only, meaning she was in a constant good light at events that were attended by media
62
labour leadership campaigning 1983 election
- foot known to be ill-suited and too left-wing when running the party, let alone the country
63
tory win effect on policy making 1983 election
- huge commons majority meant enabled to push through further privatisation policies
- encouragement through majority to take on the miners strike, eventual defeat showed massive victory for thatcherites against excessive union power
64
labour defeat effect on policy making 1983 election
- marked wilderness period of labour until new labour 1997
- gradual return to more centralist ideologies for labour, leading to new formation of ‘new labour’
- wake up call for labour to reinstate themselves as a proper opposition
65
when was the 2019 election
12th december 2019
66
seat distribution of the 2019 election
tory = 365
labour = 203
lib dem = 11
snp = 48
others = 24
67
context behind 2019 election
- 80 seat majority to johnson
- end to brexit
- bad tory party unity over brexit
- followed may’s minority gov and cameron’s first 5 year coalition with lib dem’s
- johnson struggles to call and early election due to fixed term parliaments act (disallowed a snap election), therefore passed the early parliamentary election act 2019
68
who led tories in teh 2019 election
johnson
69
who led lib dem’s in the 2019 election
jo swinson
70
who led labour in the 2019 election
corbyn
71
how did brexit impact the 2019 election
- electorate given three clear choices
- tory = leave and follow through with brexit
- lib dem = strong remain stance
- labour = offered another referendum to either remain or take labour’s changed brexit deal
72
role of social media in 2019 election
- labour used facebook
- tory made a banner ad for youtube
73
four main issues in 2019 election via social media presence
1. brexit
2. nhs
3. racism
4. economy
74
role of the media in 2019 election
- larger engagement with corbyn rather than johnson
- labour spent 1.4m compared to 900k by tories
- rise of fake news in campaigning
75
tory party policy and manifesto 2019 election
- ‘get brexit done’
- 50k new nurses
- no rising tax on vat, ni or income tax
- emissions to zero by 2050
76
labour party policy and manifesto 2019 election
- second referendum in 6 months, remain or labour brexit deal
- increase in health spending
- rise in minimum wage
- nationalisation of royal mail
- seen as too socialist
77
lib dem party policy and manifesto 2019 election
- rejoin eu
- 35 hours free childcare
- extra school funding
78
impact of labour leadersgip 2019 election
- seen as too socialist to be elected
- many disliked corbyn and changed their vote because of this, espciallly working class seats
- bad stance on brexit, not clear enough
- many losses were in leave leaning seats
- johnson seen as more popular
79
tory impact of leadership 2019 election
- appealed to those who voted leave
- organised and clear in comparison to labour
- boris popular for strong leadership style
80
lib dem impact of leadersgip 2019 election
- failed to gain traction as their manifesto undermined the popular vote in 2016 referendum
- strongly appealed to remain voters
81
elections effect on policy making 2019 election
- johnson green light to embark on negotiations for preferred brexit deal
- policy making instantly influenced by crisis management of covid in january 2020
- brexit shifted to the side in terms of political dramas
- shows that govs with strong majorities and agendas can be forced to improvise policies as a reaction to unforeseen events
82
significance of fptp 2019 election
- reaffirmed fptp ability to produce strong governments
- highlighted what is more valued, direct proportionality or strong governments?
83
when was the 1997 election
1 may 1997
84
seat distribution of 1997 election
labour = 418
tory = 165
lib dem = 46
others = 30
85
who led tories in teh 1997 election
john major
86
who led lib dem’s in the 1997 election
paddy ashdown
87
portillo moment
- former defence minister micheal portillo lost tory seat in 1997 election
- seen to be the next tory leader
- seat saw a large 17.4% swing
- seat = enfield southgate
88
role of the media in 1997 election
- sun backed blair in 1997 after a switch up of hatred against kinnock in 1992 election
- sun wrote ‘it must be you’ with a finger pointing to blair
- pro-labour newspapers accounted for 62% overall readership
89
what was the suns stance in teh 1992 election?
- completely against labour
- said ‘if kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave britain please turn out the lights’
- highly personal attack on labour
90
labour party policy and manifesto 1997 election
- zero tolerance towards anti-social behaviours
- committed to constitutional reform and human rights
- to cut NHS waiting lists
- national minimum wage increase
91
tory party policy and manifesto 1997 election
- slogan ‘you can only be sure with the conservatives’
- privatisation, extend to royal mail
- no major constitutional changes, e.g. devolution
- greater use of CCTV
- reduce income tax to 20% and lower business taxes
- crackdown on benefit fraud
92
impact of leadership and campaigns labour 1997 election
- ‘things can only get better’
- blair had a strong appeal to younger and more middle class voters
- blair public school educated and went to oxford, prescott from traditional working class background
93
tory leadership and campaign impact 1997 election
- mocked for being grey and uncharismatic
- party was divided for 5 years prior over eu
- major unable to shake of criticism for being a weak leader
- ‘new labour new danger’ fiasco. critical poster of blair/bad photo of blair used for tory campaigning
- showed tory desperation in advertising
94
1997 election effect on policy making for labour
- able to use large majority to deliver bulk of policies
- constitutional changes, minimum wage and spending on public services without major tax raises
- set the scene for subsequent election victories in 2001 and 2005
95
1997 election effect on policy making for tories
- not in power for another 13 years
- worked hard to loose ‘nasty party’ reputation
- opposition to policies like the minimum wage and devolution dropped, took a more liberal stance supporting gay rights and the environment
96
significance of fptp 1997 election
- heavily punished third parties
- lib dem vote share = 16.8%, 7% share of mps however
