History 3

Question 1

What does PR stand for in the context of council elections?

Answer 1

Proportional Representation

Proportional Representation is a voting system used to allocate seats in councils in accordance with the popularity of political parties.

Question 2

How does Proportional Representation allocate council seats?

Answer 2

It allocates seats to political parties in proportion to their popularity

This means that more popular parties receive more seats in the council.

Question 3

What was the approximate Nationalist majority percentage in Derry?

Answer 3

Around 66%

This majority significantly affected the composition of the local council.

Question 4

What was the reaction of Unionists to the empowerment of Nationalists through PR?

Answer 4

Unionists did not approve and introduced gerrymandering

Gerrymandering was a tactic used to manipulate electoral boundaries for unfair advantage.

Question 5

Define gerrymandering.

Answer 5

The artificial arrangement of electoral boundaries to give one group an unfair advantage

This practice is often used to dilute the voting power of a particular demographic.