First Past The Post Flashcards
features of FPTP
- two-party system
- winner’s bonus
- bias to major party
- discrimination against third and smaller parties
- single-party government
what is a two-party system
when two major parties compete for office, generally with nation wide support
what is a winner’s bonus
the share of seats that the first-placed party wins in excess of it’s share of the vote under FPTP (e.g. in 2024, Labour won 34% of the vote and then won 64% of seats )
what is bias to a major party
- Tactical Voting - Labour benefited from anti-conservative tactical voting between 1997 and 2005
- Differences in constituency size - up until 2024, The Isle of Wight had about 115,000 voters and the Western isles had about 20,000 voters)
- Differential Turnout - turnout is lower in Labour-held seats: 62% in 2015, compared to 69% in seats won by the conservatives. Labour needed fewer votes to win seats between 1997 and 2010
what is Discrimination against third and smaller parties
discriminates against third parties and smaller parties whose support is not concentrated in particular regions (Reform UK):
- 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’
what is Single-party government
FPTP tends to produce single-party majority governments with working parliamentary majorities . coalition governments and minority governments are relatively rare at Westminster.
