Electoral systems Flashcards
How are constituencies decided?
FPTP: A simple plurality system means that the winner is the candidate who gains the most votes.
> The winning margin need only be one vote; quite often it is less than 50% of the votes cast.
> The UK is divided up into 650 constituencies - only one MP per constituency.
What are the advantages of FPTP?
> FPTP is easy to use, with voters making a single cross and choosing one candidate. The May 2010 general election was an exception when negotiations between the prospective parties of government did not produce a result for 5 days. This would be the norm under a proportional system.
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. 2019: Conservative Party: Received 43.6% of the national vote, resulting in 365 seats, Labour Party: Secured 32.2% of the vote, translating to 202 seats vs Liberal Democrats: Obtained 11.5% of the vote but only 11 seats.
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. In 2024, Reform UK won 14% of the votes, but 1% of seats. Green won 7% of votes, but 1% of seats.
A strong link between MPs and their constituencies as relatively small-sized constituencies. A single MP is responsible for representing those who live within the constituency. MPs handle correspondence from their constituents and hold surgeries at which they make themselves available to those seeking help and advice.
It allows for stable governments- single-party governments are less likely to collapse, so provide certainty and stability.
What are the Disadvantages of FPTP
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- MPs and governments can be elected on less than 50% of the vote. This is because you don’t 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. FPTP regularly produces governments elected on a minority of the popular vote.
- 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. 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. A recent example of this phenomenon is the 2024 UK general election: Labour Party: Received 33.8% of the national vote but won 411 out of 650 seats (63.2%)
- FPTP limits the choice for voters as 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 decrease voter turnout. Labour seat occurred during the 2024 general election in Manchester Rusholme. Turnout in this constituency was notably low, with only 40.0% of eligible voters participating
- Votes are of unequal value as in a small constituency a vote usually counts for more than it does in a larger one. 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. 2024 - The Electoral Reform Society highlighted that 58% of voters did not vote for their elected Member of Parliament (MP),
- It leads to few checks and balances on government power, as governments can easily pass legislation. The Conservative Party, led by Boris Johnson, won a decisive victory with 365 seats out of 650, securing an 80-seat majority.
where is Additional Member System used?
is used for electing the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Greater London Assembly.
How does AMS work?
Voters have two votes: the first is for a constituency representative, who is elected using FPTP; the second is for a party list and uses multi-member regional constituencies, introducing an element of proportional representation. D’Hondt formula is used to determine how many members a party should be allocated from the lists.
What are the advantages of AMS?
> There are two types of representative — those elected in constituencies and those elected by the list system,
It enables smaller parties, such as the Greens, to win some seats.
The overall outcome tends to be approximately proportional to support for all parties.
Secured 47.7% of the constituency vote and 40.3% of the regional vote, resulting in 64 out of 129 seats (approximately 49.6%)
The system increases voter choice, as voters have two votes.
The AMS allowed voters to differentiate their support between constituency candidates and regional parties, offering greater flexibility in expressing their political choices.
> Coalitions are more likely- and you could argue that coalitions formed after an election have no mandate- since no-one voted for a coalition. In the aftermath of the 2021 Senedd election, the Labour Party and Plaid Cymru entered into a cooperation agreement. This arrangement facilitated collaborative efforts on shared policy objectives without forming a formal coalition government. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Green Party established a confidence-and-supply agreement following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. This means that the government’s programme will be worked out behind closed doors in negotiations between the party leaders, without the voters having the opportunity to give their verdict on it.
Smaller parties achieve less representation than under a fully proportional system. In the 2021 election, he Alba Party contested the regional lists but did not win any seats (won 2% of the vote).
This is especially true in Wales where the small number of top-up seats has advantaged Labour. 2016: Welsh Labour secured more seats than their proportional share, leading to under-representation of Plaid Cymru. AMS may have contributed to the rise of Nationalism in Scotland
A closed list system is used, which means that the party leadership ranks candidates in order on the list. It can use this power to limit the chances of dissident members of the party being elected.
It creates two different types of member: some with constituency responsibilities and some without. However, there is little evidence that the second category is seen as having less legitimacy.
Where is supplementary vote used?
> Supplementary vote was the system used for electing mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners in the UK - Elections Act 2022 changed it to FPTP
How does SV work?
> Voters give a first preference and a second preference. The second preferences of those who voted for an eliminated candidate are then distributed between the top two. Whoever has the most votes in total after this process is elected.
What are the advantages of SV?
-It ensures broad support for the winner. Sadiq Khan, elected Mayor of London in May 2016,
- It has allowed some independent candidates to win;
- The system ensures that the winner has an overall majority. It ensures fairness because all voters have two choices and so can potentially affect the outcome
What are the disadvantages of SV?
- SV is not proportional as one individual is being elected to a single office.
- The winner does not need to get an absolute majority of the votes cast and the two main parties – Conservative and Labour – still dominate these elections. Sadiq Khan (Labour): Received 43.8% of the vote
- Voters need to be able to identify the likely top two candidates in order to have influence over the outcome, and this is not always clear (with the exception of London).
Not clear: 2021 - Almost 5% of ballots cast in this year’s mayor of London election were rejected, mainly because voters had voted for too many candidates.
Where is Single transferable vote used?
- proportional electoral system used primarily in Northern Ireland. multiple representatives are elected to each constituency.
What are the advantages of STV?
> Proportional: There is a close correlation between votes and seats. 22 - Sinn Féin: Secured 27 out of 90 seats (30%) with 29.0% of first-preference votes. DUP): Won 25 seats 27.8% with 21.3% of first-preference votes.
Voter choice is high; it is possible to choose between candidates standing for the same party as well as between candidates from different parties.
In Northern Ireland it has created a power-sharing government that enables representatives of the two rival communities, the unionists and nationalists, to work together, ending 30 years of violent disturbance in Northern Ireland.
What are the disadvantages of STV?
> It is not fully proportional, particularly where smaller multi-member constituencies are used.
In large multi-member constituencies, the link between the member and the voters may be weak.
Power-sharing governments may bring rival groups together but they are still prone to conflict. The Northern Ireland executive was suspended several times -
The most recent suspension occurred from February 2022 to February 2024. During this period, the devolved government was not operational, leading to direct rule from the UK government
How does STV work?
Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If a candidate receives more votes than the quota they are elected, and their additional votes are redistributed to the other candidates on the basis of who was put as the next preference.
What are the advantages of a referendum?
> Referendums give people the opportunity to exercise choice without having it modified by politicians
In a general election the people are expressing a view on a great many policy matters. The virtue of a referendum is that it enables a single issue to be isolated,
A referendum can ‘settle and issue by demonstrating clear public support for something that was causing division.
Referendums raise voters’ political awareness.
The conduct of referendums has been subject to independent supervision by the Electoral Commission since 2000. This reduces the chances that the result will be skewed as a result of unfair influence,
What are the advantages of a referendum?
> Referendums undermine parliamentary sovereignty. Voters elect representatives to make difficult decisions on their behalf
Ordinary people lack the expertise to make decisions on complex questions.
If the arguments are not explained clearly to the public, popular participation may be low. This was a factor in the low turnout in the 2011 referendum on electoral reform
Governments use referendums when it suits them and when they think they will win
Low turnouts limit the legitimacy of the decision. Turnout in the 1997 Welsh devolution vote, for example, was barely above 50 percent,
Voters in referendums can be influenced by factors such as the popularity of the current government
What was the turnout and purpose for the good Friday agreement?
> The voter turnout for the referendum was 81%, which was a high figure, indicating significant public interest in the issue.
It established a power-sharing government between Unionists (mostly Protestant) and Nationalists (mostly Catholic),
Despite the success, the implementation of the agreement has been fraught with challenges, including sporadic violence from dissident groups and difficulties in sustaining power-sharing arrangements
What was the turnout for the brexit referendum?
> The referendum saw a high turnout of 72.2%, which was substantial, reflecting the importance and the highly charged nature of the vote
What was the result of brexit referendum?
> The referendum result plunged the UK into a period of political instability, with the resignation of then-Prime Minister David Cameron (who had campaigned for the “Remain” side) and the appointment of Theresa May as his successor.
> The decision to leave the EU led to complex and prolonged negotiations between the UK and the EU to determine the terms of their future relationship.
What was the voter turnout of av referendum?
> The voter turnout for the referendum was 42.2%, which was relatively low compared to other UK referendums.
What were the results of the AV referendum?
> “No” vote was decisive, with a two-to-one margin, showing strong public resistance to replacing the First Past the Post system.
After the defeat, the party’s political credibility suffered, as many of their electoral reform pledges seemed to have been rejected by the electorate. This added to the growing disillusionment with the coalition government, which was perceived as making compromises on policies.
What are the advanatages for electoral reform?
> Lack of legitimacy of MPs - Less than one-third of MPs get 50% of the vote in their constituency
Lack of legitimacy of government - No single-party government in the UK since 1931 has won over 50% of the vote.
Governments are formed with a minority of the votes cast. This fell as low as 35% for Labour in 2005
Bias to large parties - As small parties suffer, so the bigger parties dominate, which means that FPTP ensures it is a two-party race for government
Wasted votes - Millions of votes go to elect nobody. These are votes for candidates who have no chance of winning, or votes in safe seats where the result is never in doubt
Safe seats — electoral deserts - Few seats change hands in elections. General elections are decided in the marginal seats. This means not all votes are of equal value - apathy wins, as people see their vote as counting for nothing
What are the advanatages agaisnt electoral reform?
- Simple to use - All that is required is one simple ‘X’ (cross) in a box. Few ballot papers are spoilt
-Quick - Election results are obtained after just a few hours and new governments within 24 hours - Keeps out extremist parties - It prevents extremist parties gaining support and credibility which may undermine democratic values
- Keeps a constituency link: Citizens can identify their representative and deal with issues directly with that person
- Produces Strong Government - Governments with clear working majorities can achieve set goals and fulfil their manifesto pledges
- Produces stable government - Governments are not usually undermined by coalition deals which can create insecurity and they can serve a full term in office
- Clear accountability: There are clear lines of responsibility for the government. It can take the praise if its actions are successful and the blame if things go wrong. If it is the latter, the FPTP system has a sense of punishing a government that lets the public down
