FPTP Flashcards
What is FPTP
Across 650 constituencies, each with around 75,000 population, where voters vote for an MP in their constituency. The Mp with the most votes by plurality is elected and party wins a seat. Party with most seats wins election.
What are safe seats
A singular seat that one party is almost guaranteed to win in an election
66% of seats in 2024 were won by a matgin of more than 10%
Not just Labour majority, in 2017, which lead to hung parliament, 57% of seats were safe according to ERS
Tories 51 to 32% of blue wall
What are marginal seats
Seats in which the winner is unclear and unpredictable
In 2024 115 seats were won by a margin of less than 5%, in 2019, 67
What is tactical voting
Where people vote for parties because they believe are more likely to cause the loss of another party, rather than them actually wanting them in power
29% of Labour 2024 tactically voted against tories and 28% in total
Also 40% in total prepared to tactically vote to get rid of CON according to poll
What is 2 party system
Where big parties with support in concentrated areas are favoured, parties with more dispersed support are less likely to win.
58% vote share for LAB and CON in 2024, all time low, was 82.4% in 2017
What is winners bonus?
Where winning parties have a disproportionate amount of seats compared to votes e.g. Labour 2024 63% of seats with 34% vote share
This therefore reduces legitimacy and challenges the idea of a mandate
Relatively small shifts can have large impact, despite -0.5% vote change, CON went from 44 to 144 seat majority in 1983
Hiw are they biased to major parties?
Due to historical ties to CON and LAB that collect in regions due to factors such as class, they tend to have concentrated areas of support, like Blue and Red Wall, keeping safe seats, allowing cases such as in 1997 where Blair had 179 seat majority with only 43% of vote
How are smaller parties discriminated against?
As individual constituencies are winner takes all, technically a party that finished 2nd in all could have 0 seats, in 2015, UKIP’s 3.8 million votes translated to 1 seat, and Reform’s 4 million votes in 2024 gave them 5 seats
Although parties like SNP naturally have concentrated support so won 56/59 of seats in Scotland 2015
Why is it biased to major parties?
- Larger parties can put candidates in almost all constituencies
- Large party funding and resources
- Large membership
- Smaller parties spread thinly
How is it discriminatory to smaller ones?
- Less media attention
- Less known by electorate
- Voters aware their vote could be wasted
