Electoral systems. Flashcards
What are the main features of first past the post system?
- The country is divided into constituencies.
- Each constituency returns one member of Parliament.
- At elections, each party presents one candidate.
- The winner of the election is the candidate who wins more votes than any other candidate.
- It is not neccessary to win an overall majority to win a seat.
What are the outcomes of first - past - the post?
- Many seats are safe seats. This means that the same party wins the seat at every election and there is no realistic possibility that any other party could win the seat.
- Usually the system tends to produce a result where a single party wins an overall majority of the seats in the House of Commons.
- Small parties have virtually no chance of winning seats.
- It is therefore associated with a two party system.
- As each party must nominate a single candidate in each constituency, the system tends to favour the selection of candidates who are ‘safe’.
What is proportional representation?
A description of any electoral system that awards seats broadly in proportion to the votes cast for each party.
What is the additional member system?
- This system operates in elections to the Scottish parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Greater London Assembly. It is a hybrid between first-past-the-post and proportional representation. It works like this:
- Two-thirds of the seats are elected using first-past-the-post.
- The other third of the seats are elected on the basis of closed regional list voting. The country is divided into regions and each party offers a list of candidates for each region. Voters have two votes - one for the constituency and the other for one of the party lists.
What are the outcomes of this system?
- The overall outcome tends to be approximately proportional to the votes cast.
- There are many safe constituency seats so there are few violent swings in the seats won for each of the parties.
- Voters have two votes.
- Small parties can win seats even though they do not have a chance of winning any constituencies.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of electoral systems?
Retention:
- It is a tried and tested system with widespread public support. Voters rejected an alternative system.
- It retains a strong MP-constituency link. This is important for the redress of grievances.
- It does normally tend to produce strong governments with a working majority in the House of Commons.
- Replacing it will exchange the known for the unknown with unquantifiable consequences.
Replacement:
- The 2010, 2015 and 2017 elections suggest it no longer guarantees a strong, decisive government.
- It produces a very unrepresentative outcome.
- Proportional representation means that voters are better served because everry vote counts and there are fewer wasted votes.
- Replacement would eliminate the problem of too many safe seats.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of first-past-the-post?
Advantages:
- It is easy to understand and produces a clear result in each constituency.
- It produces one single representative for each constituency and so creates a close constituency bond.
- Accountability of the individual MP is clear to the electors.
Disadvantages:
- The overall outcome is not proportional or fair.
- It means that many voters are effectively wasted.
- It encourages tactical voting among some voters.
What are the advantages and drawbacks of the additional member system?
- Fair to all parties.
- Gives voters two votes and so more choice.
- It produces two classes of representative.
- It is more complex than first-past-the-post.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the single transferable vote system?
Advantages:
- It produces a broadly proportional outcome.
- It gives voters a wide choice of candidates.
- Voters can vote for candidates from diffferent parties.
- As there are six representatives per constituency, each voter has a choice of those to represent them and usually can be represented by someeone from the party they support.
Disadvantages:
- It is quite a complex system that some voters do not understand.
- The vote counting is complicated and can take a long time.
- It can help candidates with extremist views to be elected.
- With six representatives per constituency, the lines of accountability are not clear.
- it is more likely to result in minority or coalition government.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the supplementary vote system?
Advantages:
- The winning candidate can claim to have an overall majority of support.
- It is relatively simple for voters to undetstand.
- Voters’ first and second choices are relevant.
Disadvantages:
- A winning candidate may not enjoy the first-choice support of an overall majority.
- The winning candidate may win on second majority.
How does first-past-the-post compare with other systems?
Objective:
Strong, stable government: first-past-the-post.
Maximum voter chance: single transferable vote.
A multi party system: single transferable vote.
Strong constituency representation: first-past-the-post
A proportional outcome: Additional member system.
An absolute majority for the winner: supplementary vote.
Votes are of equal value: single transferable vote.
How have referendums been used in the UK?
Important referendums in the UK:
- EU referendum.
- Scottish independence referendum.
What are the reasons as to why referendums occur?
- An issue might be divisive within government and/or within the nation, so a referendum can settle the issue and unite the population.
- An issue may be of huge constitutional significance and so require the direct consent of the people.
- It helps to entrench and safeguard constitutional changes.
- To judge public opinion on an issue.
What is the impact of referendums in the UK?
Successful exercises:
- The referendum on Scottish independence did seem to have settled the issue. There was a huge turnout and a decisive result.
- The local referendums on the introduction of congestion charges in cities successfully established that public opinion was against the idea.
- Votes on Scottish devolution in 1997 and on a new settlement in Northern Ireland in 1998 were decisive and led to a widespread consent to the changes.
Unsuccessful exercises:
- The referendum on Welsh devolution in 1997 produced a narrow majority on a low turnout. This led to confusion over how much devolution Wales should be granted.
- The 2011 referendum on electoral reform produced a decisive result though on a low turnout.
What are the arguments for and against referendums?
For:
- Referendums are the purest form of democracy uncorrupted by the filter of representative democracy.
- Referendums can help to unite a divided society.
- They can solve conflicts within the government.
- Particularly useful when the expressed consent of the people is important.
- A recent argument is that people are better informed in modern times and so are in a better position to make crucial decisions.
Against:
- May be too complex.
- Can cause social rifts.
- May undermine democracy.
- Can represent the tyranny of the majority.
