FPTP should be replaced with STV

Question 1

coalitions v strong stable government

Answer 1

-STV produces coalitions because in Northern Ireland power sharing is mandatory to keep the peace
-a greater degree of viewpoints are therefore represented and single party dominance, such as that under FPTP is not present
-this also educated citizens that politics can be conducted in a more consensual spirit with the coalition parties creating policies for wider society

Question 2

coalitions evaluation

Answer 2

-majoritarianism and one party rule under FPTP allows a party to enact its manifesto with little opposition e.g. Johnson’s enactment of Brexit,and political stability is promoted under FPTP

Question 3

disproportionality v proportionality

Answer 3

under STV, the election of smaller parties is encouraged, therefore encouraging pluralism and a wider representation of society
-under STV, unionist and nationalist parties are elected, alongside ‘hard-left’ parties e.g. trotskyist People Over Profit party
-compared to FPTP, minor parties receive minimal representation, Greens 0.2% of seats, 2019 election saw zero independents and no Brexit Party rep despite gaining 2% of voteshare

Question 4

disproportionality v proportionality evaluation

Answer 4

-FPTP deliberately marginalises smaller parties to force the major parties to develop ‘catch all’ policies, if extremists are encouraged to be included in the debate in parliament their influence may grow over time

Question 5

reduction of wasted votes

Answer 5

-under STV, surplus votes are not wasted, once a candidate receives the quota votes for them are transferred to the next using the Droop formula
-this is somewhat PR and provides much better representation than FPTP whilst decreasing the amount of wasted votes
-under FPTP, 43.6% of the votes translated to 56% of the seats in 2019, but under STV in 2022 Sinn Fein won 29% of first preference votes and 30% of seats overall

Question 6

wasted votes evaluation

Answer 6

-although surplus votes may not be wasted under STV, there is a higher degree of spoiled ballots due to the higher degree of political literacy needed to understand the system, 2022 saw an error rate of over 1%, compared to 0.2% under FPTP in 2017

Question 7

enhanced representation under STV

Answer 7

MLAs are encouraged to compete for 1st,2nd and 3rd choice of votes leading to better quality of representation as no candidate can gain re-election simply by being on the ticket
-candidates compete with members of their own party as well as rival ones
-there is less room for complacency, sometimes seen in safe seats under FPTP, safe seats at Stormont do not exist

Question 8

enhanced representation evaluation

Answer 8

-positive benefits are overstated, certain parties are guarateed re-election due to the nature of politics in NI
-the accountability element of FPTP is underplayed too, MPs understand if they are not responsive to constituents their position is at risk