First-past-the post electoral system (FPTP)

Question 1

What is the FPTP system used in?

Answer 1

• general elections in England and Wales

Question 2

How does the FPTP system work?

Answer 2

• Each constituency elects one MP to the house of commons
• electors cast a single vote by writing a cross (X) on the ballot paper beside the name of their favoured candidate
• the candidate with the most votes wins the constituency
• a candidate requires a plurality of votes to win: one more vote than the second-placed candidate (essentially whoever gets the most votes, they don’t have to get more votes than all the other candidates)

Question 3

How is it counted?

Answer 3

• MP needs the largest number of votes in their area
• constituency boundaries are determined by independent boundary commissions which review the size of the electorate in each constituency every 8-12 years

Question 4

what are safe and marginal seats?

Answer 4

• safe seats: a constituency of which the occupant (incumbent) party has a large majority and which is usually retained by the same political party again after election (2017 Liverpool Walton labour-86% of votes)
• marginal seats: a constituency where the incumbent party has a small majority and which may be won by a different party at the next election

Question 5

Case study:

Answer 5

• 2017 saw a reversal of FPTP
• C and L pulled 82% of votes the highest since 1970 however the election was the most disproportional since 1955
• the share of seats won by conservatives was higher than their share of votes but the closing gap between them and labour denied them a winner bonus which led to a hung parliament (party with the most votes does not have the majority of parliamentary seats and thus does not have a mandate usually results in a coalition or enter an agreement with minor parties)
• parties other than C and L had won 70 seats and the Democratic unionist party held the balance of power

Question 6

Name one feature of FPTP

Answer 6

• generates a two party system as without a geographical base, smaller parties find it harder to win seats
• it favours parties with strong nationwide support
• in Scotland in 2015 the SNP won just under half the votes but won 95% of the seats providing a different view of Scottish public opinion than actually exists.

Question 7

Name a second feature of FPTP

Answer 7

• winner’s bonus :FPTP tends to exaggerate the performance of the most popular party producing a winner’s bonus or landslide effect it gives the winning party more seats than is proportional to the number of voting
• i.e Labour Party in 2005 won 35.2% of votes but won 55.1% of seats
• again in 1997 labour won 43.4% of the votes and 63.4% of seats

Question 8

Name one last effect of FPTP

Answer 8

• discrimination against smaller parties whose support is not concentrated in particular regions
• smaller parties are disadvantaged by mechanics: FPTP makes it more difficult for smaller parties to win seats. No rewards for coming second
• Psychology - smaller parties have credibility problems because voters believe that a vote for them is a wasted vote

Question 9

Case study two:

Answer 9

• 1983 election conservatives won a landslide of votes 37 seats despite a 1.5% fall in their share of votes
• the liberal SDP formed an alliance of which labour won only 660,000 more votes than the alliance but won 186 more seats
• the alliance’s 25% of the vote translated into 3.5% of seats