General Elections Flashcards
What is the puropse of general elections?
To ensure the views of people are represented as parties must ensure their policies appeal to voters
To hold elected reps to account for their actions
To choose a govt and give mandate. More competition - high turnout - higher vote share more legitimacy
Give an example of how elections ensure peoples views are represneted and that parties respond to the views of voters
2017 lection saw an increase in young voters - attributed to the appeal of Labour policies on tuition fees and housing
2019 election saw conservatives win by a landslide as they pledged to get Brexit done
How are representatives held accountable by constituents?
2015 elections Lib Dems lost 49 of 57 seats because they were held accountable for breaking promises by entering into the conservative coalition
2017 election high profile MPS lost seats e.g Nick Clegg and SNP deputy Angus Robertson
How do the electorate give a mandate to govt?
Liz Truss beame PM without an election. People questioned whether she had a mandate for her policies which were not in the 2019 conservative manifesto
2015 general election resulted in a con majority seen as having a strong mandate for issues such as austerity and EU referndum. This enabled them to push through an agenda without a coalition
Hoe is the country divided up for elections?
Into constuencies represented by at least 1 seat
What does party need to do to win an election?
It needs a majority of seats to form a single party governmentwhich can pass laws with relative easeand less likely to face an unexpected election
What happens if no party has a majority?
Sev options
coalition - 1 or 2 parties make a formal agreement to govern together
minority govt - the largest party forms a govt but relies on support from other parties to win parliamentary votes
confidence and supply a smaller party agrees to support a minority govt on votes of confidence and issues of supply (money and budgets) in return for govt support
What is the majoritarian electoral system?
a candidate needs 50% plus 1 majority to win - used in London mayoral elections
What is the plurality electoral system?
no majority needed to win seats just the party/candidate with the most votes wins e.g First Past The Post
What is he proportional electoral system?
seats allocated on the percentage of votes gained by a party - used in Scotld, Wales and N Ireland
What electoral system is first past the post?
Plurality
Where is First Past the Post used in the UK?
general elections
Does First past the post lead to single or multi member constituencies?
single
What kind of govt does first by the post produce?
majority
How proportional is first past he post?
low proportionality
In first past the post are all votes of equal value or re some wasted?
Many votes wasted due to safe seats and stronghold
Is the additional member system plurality or proprtional?
Proportional
Where in the UK is the additional member system used?
Devolved assembly elections in Scot and Wales
Does additional member system lead to single or multi member constituencies?
Both
What party system does additional member system lead to?
Multi party
What kind of govt does additional member system produce?
minority/coalition
How proportional is the outcomeof the additional member system?
medium proportionality
Are all votes of equal value with the additional member system?
Few votes are wasted due to regional top up seats.
What type of electoral system is single transferable vote?
Proprtional
Where in the Uk is single transferable vote used?
Northen Ireland assembly elections
Is single transferable vote single or multi member constituencies?
Multi
What party system does single transferable vote lead to?
multi party
What kind of govt does single transferable vote produce?
minority/coalition
How proprtional is the outcome of single transferable vote?
High proprtionality
Are all votes of eual value or are some wasted with single transferable votes?
Few wasted votes
What type of electoral system is the supplementary vote?
Majoritarian
Where is the UK has the supplementary vote system been used?
Mayoral elections but abandoned in 2022
Does the supplementary vote lead to two party or multi pary system?
two party
Is the supplementary vote system for single ir multi member consituencies?
single
What kind of govt does the supplementary vote system produce?
Majority
How proprtional is the outcome of supplementary votes?
Low proprtionality
With supplmentary votes are all votes equal of are some wasted?
Having a seonc preference reduced wasted votes but votes are wasted if neither of the top two prefernces make the second round.
