Electoral systyms in the UK Flashcards
INTRO- BFL
B- A voting system used in the Uk by Scotland, wales and the London assembly , is AMS - the additional member system.
F- Due to its proportional systym and other factors it can be seen as more representitive that one of the oether systems it derives from- (First past the post).
L- Though each system has its own benifits, this essay will argue that AMS is more widely and fairly representitive.
Simple/complicated for the electorate AMS K points
- Clear and visible electorate- communicates needs to gov- aids rep- MSP speaks for constituents views
- For example, Jackson Carlaw is the MSP for Eastwood constituency and Tom Arthur is the MSP for the Renfrewshire south.
- For example, in Prestwick, there are 3 SNP MSPs, 3 tory Msps, and 2 Labour MSPs
Simple/complicated for the electorate AMS A points
- However, a weakness of this system is that it can be confusing which MSP to go to for help.This is because voters get 8 different MSPs to represent them. 1 for the constituency they live in and 7 for the region they live in -making it less clear who to seek help from
- For example, in Prestwick, there are 3 SNP MSPs, 3 tory Msps, and 2 Labour MSPs
Simple/complicated for the electorate FPTP K points
- Simple to understand at a local level- most votes wins
- For example, Philipa Whitford won almost 5000 votes more than her nearest rival making her the clear winner
- For example, many people in Central Ayrshire will have supported the conservative candidate because they were most likely to beat the SNP’S Whitford who would bring the prospect of independence and not because they supported tory policies.
Simple/complicated for the electorate FPTP A points
- However a weakness of this simplicity is that it comes at the expense of choice- the winner takes all systym forces people to vote tactically in order to recieve their least worst option.
- For example, many people in Central Ayrshire will have supported the conservative candidate because they were most likely to beat the SNP’S Whitford who would bring the prospect of independence and not because they supported tory policies.
More/less power to smaller parties AMS K points
- Electorate has more power. With AMS voters get two ballots to fill out so there is an increased chance one of their choices will win.A voter might find their first choice for constituency is unsuccesfull but their second vote allows MSPs to be appointed by their favoured Party
- For example, a Labour voter in Ayr would be dissapointed with the torys winning the seat but would have helped labour gain 2 msps in the region.
More/less power to smaller parties AMS A points
- However, a weakness of AMS is the power given to parties rather than voters as the second vote voters make is only for a party meaning the party chooses the rep and if they quit the voters have no say.
- For example when former Labour leader Kezia Dugdale quit as MSP, the labour leadership chose her replacement rather than voters.
More/less power to smaller parties FPTP K points
- Strength - limits growth of extremist parties as parties need to recieve a large number of votes in small areas to gain seats and parties with limited public support cannot achieve this
- For example in 2019 facist BNP party stood but gained only a few hundred votes meaning they will never get into parliament
More/less power to smaller parties FPTP A points
- However weakness is this also impacts smaller parties as a whole.As very highly concentrated votes in any one area is needed to gain a single seat, smaller parties with spread out supporters may be shut out.
- For example in the 2019 election The Greens won 900,000 votes but only one seat whereas the SNP party gained 1.2 M votes yet 48 seats as their votes were much more concentrated
More/less Power to parties EVALUATION
-Overall it can clearly be argued AMS provides far better representation than a system such as first past the post.If the scottish parliament used FPTP it would certainly be the case that the Green party would gain no seats in parliament.
More/Less proportional result AMS K points
- Stregnth, more representitive with a fairer result.As system is more proportional, smaller parties have greater chanceof success in elections.By being proportional it means that if a party were to recieve 20% of the vote they would revieve 20% of the seats.
- For example in 2016 both the Labour and Conservatives gained 20% of the vote and 20% of the seats each
More/ less proportional result AMS A points
- However a weakness of this system is that it is stil not truly proportional.Though the system is more proportional than FPTP, it is still not 100% fair.This is because AMS splits Scotland into regions so if some parties gein slightly more seats in each region than the number of votes they get that can add up to a better result overall.
- For example in 2016 lib dems recieved 7% of the vote but got one seat less than the greens who recieved only 4% of the vote.
More/ less proportional result FPTP K points
- Stregnth of FPTP is that it results in a clear and visible representative for the electorate-This makes it clear who residents of a certain constituency ( each constituency has a voted rep) can go to for help or to raise something in parliament.
- For example Kirsten Oswlad is the MP for east renfrewshire but the MP for south Glasgow is Stewart Mcdonald.
More/ less proportional result FPTP A points
- However a weakness of this systym is that most voters arnt repped by their preferred candidate. This is becuase MPs are elected by winning just one more vote than their oppositions, and often they do not gain a majority of votes resulting in a majority not being repped by their preffrered party.
- For example , only 45% of people voted for Kirsten Oswald in 2019 meaning most people in East Renfrewshire did not vote for the MP they have.
More/ less proportional result EVALUATION
-Overall this shows that whilst AMS gives fair rep for the parties, it does not fairly rep candidtaes within the parties themslevs.
