Electoral Systems Flashcards
Functions of elections in the UK
Representation - enable the electorate to select MPs to act on their behalf
Choosing a government - voting determines the make of the HoC
Participation - voting is a form of participation
Influences over policy - allows citizens to voice their policy preferences. As parties issue manifestos outlining policies they would introduce if elected. Winning party claims a mandate
Accountability - government and MPs held accountable and removed in the next election if the electorate is unhappy with them
Citizen education - election campaigns provide citizens with information on major political issues and policies of main parties
Legitimacy - ives winning party legitimacy
Recruitment - parties nominate candidates for elections to provide them with campaign resources
Types of UK elections
General elections - elects all 650 MPs to the commons, every 5 years
Devolved elections - Scottish parliament, welsh and northern Irish assembly have elections every 5 years
European Parliament elections - UK has an MEP elected every 5 years
Local elections - councillors elected for 4 year fixed terms. In some areas mayors and police commissioners are elected.
By-elections - picks a new representative of a seat becomes vacant
Supplementary vote
Used to elect the mayor of London
Voters record two preferences.
Winning candidate must achieve an absolute majority. If a candidate gets an absolute majority they are elected.
If not the two highest candidates are retained and second preference votes are calculated.
FPTP
Plurality system used in UK general elections
MPs elected in single member constituencies. Each constituency elects one representative to the HoC.
Candidate needs a plurality of votes to win. Party with the most candidates becomes the government and the leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister.
Single transferable vote
This is a proportional system used in Australia’s senate, the Irish republic and European elections in Northern Ireland
Voters vote in order for as many or as little candidates as they like.
The quota gives the winning threshold.
If a candidate achieves the threshold they win and the rest of the votes are transferred to second preferences. If nobody achieves the threshold the lowest candidate is eliminated and votes are transferred.
In the formula the second preferences votes are not as valuable as the first
Regional list
Proportional system used in European elections in Great Britain, list seats for Scottish parliament, welsh assembly and the London assembly.
In this method each constituency party submits a list of candidates. Seats are allocated based on according to the votes cast for each party
Alternative vote
Proportional system used to elect the majority of chairs of select committees in the commons and the Lord speaker in the House of Lords
The uk held a referendum in 2011 to use this in general elections but 67.8% said no with a turnout of 42%.
Voters rank candidates in order. Ballot papers counted, if a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote if they win, if not the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and second preference votes are reallocated. Process is continued until a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote
Additional member system
Mixed system used to elect Scottish parliament, welsh and London assembly
Voters are given two votes.
first vote if for a constituency MP and the winner is decided by FPTP.
Second vote is for a political party. Those MPs are allocated to regions to make the result fairer for all parties
What was unique about the 2017 general election
First time since 1951 that both main parties gained votes. Due to UKIP going from 4 million to 600,000 votes.
Conservatives and labour gained a combined 82% of the vote, the highest since 1970.
Election was the least disproportional since 1955
Increase in marginal seats, 121 with less than a 10% gap
Regional disparities narrowed as labour made gains in southern seats and the conservatives gained Scottish seats
Advantages of FPTP
Easy to understand and operate
Normally produces a majority giving a strong and stable government who can fulfil their manifestos
Single member constituencies provide a clear link between MPs and their constituency
Keeps out extremist parties as the system makes it hard for them to gain seats
Disadvantages of FPTP
Disproportional outcomes - 2015 UKIP gained 12.6% of the vote but 1 seat
Causes electoral deserts - conservatives got 34% of north east vote but 10% of seats
In 2010 2/3 of MPs did not achieve a majority
Different constituency sizes means votes have different impacts, largest constituency is the Isle of Wright (110,924) and the smallest is Nah-Eileanan (21,837)
Limited choice due to safe seats
Advantages and disadvantages of the supplementary vote
Advantages - winning candidate achieves a broad support this gives them greater legitimacy, supporters of smaller parties can vote for them and their preferred main party
Disadvantages - candidate can win a majority with second preferences meaning the least unpopular candidate may win rather than the most popular candidate
The system wouldn’t be proportional in general elections
Advantages and disadvantages of the single transferable vote
Advantages - delivers proportional outcomes and ensures voters are of equal value, government is likely to consist of a party with a majority of the vote, greater choice as voters pick from different candidates from same party.
Disadvantages - less accurate in translating votes than other proportional systems, he multi member constituencies weaken the link between MPs and constituency, likely to produce a coalition government, counting process is long and complex
Advantages and disadvantages of the additional member system
Advantages - proportional outcome and votes are less likely to be wasted, voters have greater choice due to split ticket voting, can be used to improve representation of women, votes are easy to count and the system is easy for voters to understand.
Disadvantages - creates two type of representative one with constituency duties and one without, smaller parties under represented, proportional outcomes are less likely where the number of additional members is low
Impact on party representation
In 1950 the UK had a two party system, 2.5 ENEP and a 2 ENPP. However in 2015 it was 4 ENEP suggesting an end to the two party system however this dropped down to 2.8 ENEP in 2017.
The 2015 election most disproportionate elections
Conservative won a majority with 38% of the vote, UKIP got one seat with 12.6% of the vote and the SNP won 95% of Scottish seats with 50% of the Scottish vote
