extra context

Question 1

what is an electoral desert?

Answer 1

not many seats, dry

Question 2

what is winners’ bonus for FPTP?

Answer 2

the idea that the winner takes all the votes, and those who didn’t vote have to accept their option wasn’t counted

Question 3

do elections enhance democracies? 3 cases for

Answer 3

• they allow the electorate to hold the current government to account
• FPTP provides strong and stable governments with majorities in the HOC, like 2019, 2015 and 1997
• strong constituency representation

Question 4

do elections enhance democracy? 3 cases against

Answer 4

• voters may feel that votes for smaller parties are wasted under FPTP
• under FPTP, it creates tyranny of the majority
• danger that too many elections will put voters off, leading to smaller turnouts

Question 5

what would proportional representation in the UK create?

Answer 5

a multi party system, which would lead to an unstable government, and would result in many close elections, like the 2010 election that led to a coalition