Electoral Systems- FPTP benefits and drawbacks

Question 1

What are the functions of an election?

Answer 1

Representation- allows a big group to select a smaller group who can act on their behalf
Choosing a government
Participation
Influence over policy- the winning party claims a mandate to implement their manifesto
Accountability
Citizen education
Legitimacy- gives legitimacy to the winning party and to the political system as a whole. By voting, even for a losing party, citizens give their consent to the system
Elite recruitment

Question 2

What should elections be like in a liberal democracy?

Answer 2

Competitive: meaningful choice
Free: freedom of speech and association and the right to join and stand for a party of one’s choice
Fair: ‘one person, one vote, one value’

Question 3

What is the democratic theorist’s view of elections in a liberal democracy?

Answer 3

Prioritise the role of people in the political process
They focus on bottom up functions, such as policy influence, participation and accountability
In a representative democracy, the government should act in accordance with the wishes of the people

Question 4

What is the elite theorist’s view of elections in a liberal democracy?

Answer 4

Elections provide authority and stability for the political system, allowing elites to get on with the task of governing, with only limited resource to the expressed wishes of the people.
They highlight top-down functions such as legitimacy and elite recruitment.
In a representative democracy, the political elite decides what is in the best interests of the people

Question 5

What does a general election do and how often does it happen?
What have been some of the reforms to do with how often it happens?

Answer 5

It elects 650MPS who make up the HOC. The fixed term Parliaments Act introduced fixed 5 year terms for governments. But the Johnson government repealed the fixed term Parliaments Act and revert to the previous system in which the PM can call an election whenever they want within a 5 year term. It was repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022

Question 6

How often are elections for the devolved assemblies?

Answer 6

Every 4 years
Scottish and Welsh elections scheduled for 2020 were delayed until 2021

Question 7

How often are local elections
How many are elected in each local election?
Where has a mayor/assembly and PCC elections?

Answer 7

Local councilors are elected for a 4 year term. In some authorities, all councilors face the electorate at the same time. In others, only a proportion of members (usually a quarter) are elected each year.
Some towns also have directly elected Mayors. In London there is an elected mayor and assembly.
PCCs are elected in England and Wales

Question 8

What is a by-election? When does it happen?

Answer 8

A by-election is held to choose a new representative if a constituency seat in the HOC, devolved assembly or local authority becomes vacant because of death or resignation
A by-election is also held if, under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, 10% of electors sign a petition to recall an MP, who has been convicted of a criminal case or suspended from the HOC

Question 9

What is a majoritarian system?

Answer 9

Majoritarian system: Supplementary vote
The winning candidate must secure an absolute majority (50% + 1 vote)
Candidates are elected in single member constituencies
The outcome is not proportional, but it’s effective in producing a single-party government

Question 10

What are the four types of electoral systems?

Answer 10

Majoritarian
Plurality
Proportional
Mixed

Question 11

What is a plurality system?

Answer 11

FPTP
The winner needs only a plurality of votes (i.e. one more cast than their closest rival). They are similar to majoritarian in that they are elected in single member constituencies and aren’t proportional

Question 12

What is a proportional representation system?

Answer 12

Produces a close fit between votes and seats.
The direct magnitude (i.e. the number of legislative seats per constituency) is crucial- the larger the constituency is, the more proportionate it is
Multi member constituencies and electoral formulas
Some allow you to vote for as many candidates as you want, in order of preference (e.g. single transferrable vote), while others (closed list system) only permit one
It usually produces coalition governments

Question 13

What is a mixed system?

Answer 13

AMS
Combines elements of majoritarian or plurality with elements of proportional
Some members are elected in single-member constituencies using FPTP. The remainder are elected by PR in multi-member constituencies. Seats are allocated on corrective lines to represent the share of the vote proportionally

Question 14

What does the independent boundary commission do?

Answer 14

They review the size of the electorate in each constituency every 8-12 years.

Question 15

How do constituency sizes vary?

Answer 15

Differences in size are permitted if there are significant geographical factors.

Question 16

What are safe seats?

Answer 16

The same party wins at election after election because the incumbent party’s majority is so large.

Question 17

What are marginal seats and how does turnout vary here?

Answer 17

The incumbent party has a small majority which the nearest rival has a realistic chance of overturning. Parties focus resources here as the results determine the election outcome. Turnout tends to be higher in marginal seats because votes are more likely to make a difference in the result of the vote

Question 18

What has changed to the number of marginal seats and safe seats in recent years?

Answer 18

In long-term decline, making it less likely that the winner of a close election will have a sizeable parliamentary majority .

Question 19

What are the features of the FPTP elections?

Answer 19

a two party system
a winner’s bonus
Bias to a major party
Discrimination against third and smaller parties
single-party government

Question 20

What is the two party system?

Answer 20

Two major parties compete for office. It favours major parties that have strong nationwide support. There is very little incentive for a faction within a major party to split and form a new party because small parties find it very difficult to win seats.
New ‘outsider’ parties also find it very difficult to break through

Question 21

What has been happening to the two-party system trend in recent years?

Answer 21

It has been falling and the UK is now beginning to resemble a multi-party system. However, nationally, in England it has made a comeback, while SNP remain the dominant party in Scotland

Question 22

What is a winners bonus?

Answer 22

FPTP tends to exaggerate the performance of the largest party. A relatively small lead over the second place party is often translated into a big lead in terms of parliamentary seats.

Question 23

What are the reasons for the bias in the electoral system?

Answer 23

Tactical voting
Differences in constituency electorates- Constituencies won by Labour tend, on average, to have a smaller electorate than those won by Conservatives. This is largely due to the movement from urban areas to rural and suburban ones
Differential turnout- turnout is usually lower in Labour seats.

Question 24

Why has Labour’s advantage in terms of constituency size and turnout narrowed?

Answer 24

Since 2015, the electoral system has been biased towards Conservatives because the conservative vote is more effectively distributed. That is, more of its votes contribute towards winning seats. Labour’s vote is less effectively distributed as the party performs best in seats it already holds, piling up votes in safe seats.

Question 25

How has the changing fortune of minor parties affected Labour and Conservative?

Answer 25

The Conservatives were the main beneficiaries of the collapse in Lib Dem support in 2015, while Labour lost 40 seats to the SNP in 2015 and won only one seat in Scotland in 2019

Question 26

Why is there discrimination against smaller parties?

Answer 26

Mechanics- FPTP makes it more difficult for smaller parties to win seats. There is no reward for coming second
Psychology- smaller parties have a credibility problem because voters believe that a vote for them is a wasted vote.

Question 27

When have coalition or minority governments had to form?

Answer 27

only the February 1974, 2010 and 2017 elections have not produced a majority of seats for one party. This shows that majority of the time FPTP produces a single party government

Question 28

What are arguments in favour of FPTP?

Answer 28

Simplicity- counting votes is straightforward and speedy
Clear outcome- produces a clear winner
Strong and stable government- single party governments with working majorities exercise significant control over the legislature
Responsible government- voters are given a clear choice between the governing party and the opposition party. The doctrine of the mandate obliges the winning party to put its proposals into effect
Effective representation- single member constituencies provide a clear link between voters and their elected representative
Keeps out extremist parties- parties on the far right and far left have not prospered in the UK

Question 29

What does the 2019 election tell us about FPTP?

Answer 29

It can still deliver single party governments
After a minority government and parliamentary gridlock, the Conservative’s ‘get Brexit done’ message proved effective.

Question 30

What are the arguments against FPTP

Answer 30

Disproportional outcomes
Electoral deserts
Plurality rather than majority support
Votes are unequal
Limited choice
Divisive politics
FPTP no longer does what it’s supposed to

Question 31

In what ways does FPTP create disproportional outcomes?

Answer 31

The number of parliamentary seats won by parties at a general election does not reflect accurately the share of vote that they achieved. As we have seen:
-The two main parties tend to win more seats than their vote merits, with the lead party given an additional winner’s bonus. A party can form a majority government having won only 35% of the vote
-Third parties and small parties whose votes are spread thinly are significantly under-represented in Parliament

Question 32

Which elections have showed high disproportionality and which have shown little (difference between % vote share and % seat share)

Answer 32

1951, 1970 and 2017 showed low disproportionality
1983, 2001 and 2010 showed high levels of disproportionality

Question 33

What are electoral deserts and when have they occured?

Answer 33

These are regions where a party has little or no representation and is created by FPTP.

Question 34

Why is FPTP negative because it’s a plurality system rather than a majoritarian one?

Answer 34

Victorious candidates do not need to secure a majority of the votes cast

Question 35

In what ways have FPTP votes been seen to be unequal?

Answer 35

FPTP doesn’t meet the ‘one person, one vote, one value’ principle.
Disparities in constituency size means that votes have different values. Many votes are wasted because they do not help to elect an MP

Question 36

What ways can a vote be wasted?

Answer 36

-any vote for a losing candidate
-a vote for a winning candidate that was not required for them to win

Question 37

In what way does FPTP create a limited choice for voters?

Answer 37

Voters cannot choose between different candidates from the same party.
Voters in safe seats that support other parties have little prospect of seeing their candidate win
This can often lead to tactical voting, which was particularly seen in 97.

Question 38

In what ways does FPTP create divisive politics?

Answer 38

In the 1960s and 1970s, critics argued FPTP bought adversarial politics (the government party is confronted by an opposition party, who are hostile towards their policy programmes, even when they are in broad agreements with it). This was because small shifts in voting produced frequent changes of government and this led to instability because parties were able to overturn policies introduced by their rivals.

Question 39

In what ways is it cited that FPTP not longer does what it’s supposed to do?

Answer 39

-The number of marginal seats has declined, meaning fewer seats change hands at general elections and it’s difficult for the second place party to overtake the incumbent
-Regional differences in support are more pronounced, making it more difficult for one party to win a parliamentary majority.
-Parties other than Conservative and Labour are winning more seats in the HOC- breakdown of the two-party system
-FPTP is now less effective in persuading electors not to vote for smaller parties.

Question 40

Why was the 2013 boundary commission review abandoned?

Answer 40

After Conservative MPs blocked the Coalition’s Lords Reform plans, Deputy PM Nick Clegg said that the Lib Dems would not approve new boundaries

Question 41

What did the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 do?

Answer 41

Raised the total number of seats from 600 to 650

It also made implementation of the boundary commissions’ proposals automatic- reforms no longer required Parliamentary approval

Question 42

What is an argument against seeing simplicity as a strength of FPTP?

Answer 42

Critics argue that voters have proven in other election that they are more than capable of using more complicated ballot papers. It can be argued we can use many complicated things without actually understanding how they work

Question 43

Why is having a strong and stable government such a great benefit?

Answer 43

-They are quick to form and can great straight to work on manifesto commitments
-Strong governments can get their agenda through parliament and will not collapse, which is likely under a coalition before the next general election.
-They are also more easily accountable, as a majority gov is clearly responsible for policy successes or failures
-parties get strong mandates
-keeps out extremist parties

Question 44

How long did it take for the coalition to form in 2010 in the UK? How could we again counter argue this?

Answer 44

It took 5 days.
However, it could be argued it was done so quickly in the UK because FPTP creates a two party system, meaning the Lib Dems was the only other party with enough seats to form a coalition: essentially, it was just debates over whether the Lib Dems would be in coalition with Labour or Conservative

Question 45

What is an example of a European Coalition taking a long time to form

Answer 45

In Belgium 2010, 11 different parties were elected to the Chamber of Representatives, but non with more than 20.26% of seats. It took a record of 541 days for a coalition government to be formed. Temporary governments put in place can be risky: when Covid hit, Belgium was, again, months into coalition talks and the caretaker government only had limited power

Question 46

How may people argue that FPTP isn’t sufficient on its advantages of strong, stable and accountable govs?

Answer 46

Theresa May sought an early election in 2017 because her small majority left her vulnerable in divisive Brexit votes
Minority/coalition govs have proven stable in Scotland and Wales and the 2010 coalition lasted the full term
Voters might know which party to blame, but unless they live in a marginal seat, it might be very difficult to elect an alternative

Question 47

How proportionate were the elections of 2015, 17 and 19?

Answer 47

Increased support for the two main parties in 2017, and to a lesser extent 2019, meant that the distribution of seats was less disproportionate than it had been for several decades.
The 2015 general election was one of the most disproportionate in the postwar period