Electoral Systems - First Past The Post Flashcards
What type of system is FPTP ?
it is a plurality system
Also known as the Plurality in a single-member constituency system
Where is FPTP used?
Westminster England General Elections and local elections in England/Wales but also in other countries around the world:
India, some African countries, USA, Canada, and in the Caribbean.
How does FPTP work?
the winning candidate/party has to receive more votes than any other party individually - but they do not have to have an absolute majority, just the most individual votes.
variation in geographical + population sizes affect constituencies - the average population for a constituency is 75000 but the Isle of Wight is near double that with 150K.
FPTP runs as a single-member constituency - represented by one elected individual.
Winning party has to have the most MPs - anything over 326 means that the government has a strong majority.
Positives - SIMPLICITY
It is very easy to understand and as it has been used for centuries, people find it far easier to vote.
2019 elections using FPTP, only 0.37% of the votes were invalid whereas in the 2007 Scottish Parliament Elections (using AMS) 3.5% of the ballots (140,000) were unusable.
Positives - strong + stable governments
Clear accountability and government held responsible via scrutiny
governments are more likely to be strong and stable and majority governments - the only exceptions being in February 1974 and 2010. 2015 and 2017 were also not decisive.
Positives - effective representation
geographic link of one MP per constituency - Henry Smith is Crawley’s local representative and often work closely to enhance what that constituency wants - Aviation group for Gatwick April 2020.
Positives - harder for extremists to break through
BNP cannot break into national politics because they need support from the entire constituency not just singular individuals - 515,000 votes in 2010 GE but failed to receive a seat (300 candidates)
Positives - Safe seats
North Shropshire CONS to LIB DEM following the resignation of Owen Paterson.
Cons safe seat for nearly 200 years, Lib Dems won with a 6000 vote majority December 2021.
Positives - accountability
referendum
MPs have clear accountability for their constituencies, so they hold regular surgeries + are likely to be interested in remedying local issues within their constituency.
68% of participants in the 2011 referendum voted NO for the AV.
Negative - Number of votes converts into the number of seats in a disproportionate way
*discuss how it benefits parties like the SNP and their concentration of votes (they are the current third largest party in WM)
2019 election - 44% of the vote, 56% of the seats.
Liberal Democrats: 12% of the vote, 2% of the seats.
SNP - 4% of the vote, 7% of the seat
Negative - two-party race
in 2019, the Cons and Lab won 76% of the vote but they received 87% of the seats.
Negatives - supports parties that are concentrated but not dispersed
Green Party had 3% of the vote share relatively dispersed but only received (0.15% of the vote) 1 seat in 2019.
How many seats would UKIP have if we used a proportional system?
in 2015, UKIP had 13% of the vote, not concentrated enough in any single constituency to win a seat - they would’ve won 82 MPs rather than 1 MP had we used a proportional system.
In 2017, how many constituencies were marginal?
BBC considered 110/650 seats marginal - parties focus on campaigning on a smaller number of marginal seats.
2015 - Parties spent combined £130,000 in marginal Luton North but only £6000 in safe seat of Bootle.
How many wasted votes were cast in 2015?
The ERS - 3/4 of voters were casting wasted votes in this election because they did not have a chance at influencing the election.
What is Vote Swap?
in 2015 and 2017, voters pledged to swap their votes with others in the country depending on how safe their constituency was + based on the outcome they were trying to achieve.
Constituency boundaries
Each constituency must be within 5% of the average constituency in the UK - in 2018, the average constituency must be within 5% of the average constituency in the UK.
In 2018, the average was 74,800
What is the difference between a coalition and confidence and supply?
The coalition is a formal agreement between two + parties, both forming in government.
C + S is informal.
They will support each other but beyond this, there is no expectation of support.
The government will be formed from members of all parties within the coalition - the government (+cabinet) will be formed of members from one party.
Positives - turnout is pretty much the same with all other systems too: probably general apathy and not FPTP
2021 AMS Scottish Parliament elections = 63%
2019 FPTP Westminster elections = 67%
2022 STV NI Stormont elections = 64%
2021 SV London mayoral elections = 41%
Local Council Elections 2021 May
England Council
Conservatives won 57 councils, gain 11
Labour won 44, down 7
