Impact of the Electoral Systems Used Flashcards
Comparing Uk Electoral Systems: FPTP
Where is it used- House of Commons
Type of constituency- single member constituencies
How the vote is cast- single vote for one candidate
How the winner is decided - candidate with most votes
Result: single-party majority government- 4/6 elections
Result: minority government - 1/6 elections
Result: coalition government - 1/6 elections
Effective number of electoral parties (mean) - 3.4
Effective number of parliamentary parties (mean) - 2
Deviation from proportionality (mean)- 20.6
Turnout (mean) - 65.4%
Comparing UK Electoral Systems: STV
Where is it used- Northern Ireland Assembly
Type of constituency- multi member constituencies
How the vote is cast- rank candidates
How the winner is decided - counting and redistributing
Result: single-party majority government- 0/6 elections
Result: minority government - 0/6 elections
Result: coalition government - 4/6 elections
Effective number of electoral parties (mean) - 5.2
Effective number of parliamentary parties (mean) - 4.5
Deviation from proportionality (mean)- 7.1
Turnout (mean) - 61.8%
Comparing UK Electoral Systems: AMS
Where is it used- Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly
Type of constituency- mix of single and multi member
How the vote is cast- 2 votes ( one for candidate one for party)
How the winner is decided - constituency seats won with votes
Result: single-party majority government- 1/5 (s) 0/5 (w)
Result: minority government - 2/5 (s) 4/5 (w)
Result: coalition government - 2/5 (s) 1/5 (w)
Effective number of electoral parties (mean) - 4.4 (s) 4.5 (w)
Effective number of parliamentary parties (mean) - 3.3 (s) 3.1 (w)
Deviation from proportionality (mean)- 10.5 (s) 14.8 (w)
Turnout (mean) - 53.4% (s) 43.1% (w)
Impact on Type of Government
- minority governments and coalition governments are the norm in devolved assemblies (except Westminster)
- only one of the devolved elections (2011 Scottish Parliament elections which produced an SNP majority government ) delivered outright winner
- FPTP becoming less likely to deliver a majority government at Westminster (2010 election lead to formation of a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition and the 2017 election produced Conservative minority government)
- only 2015 produced a majority government in last 3 elections
- had STV or the closed list PR system been used Conservatives would have fallen short of a majority and UKIP would have been their most likely coalition partner
- 2017 would have given Labour a better prospect of forming a minority government
2015 General Election (Seats): Cons: 331(FPTP) 242 (List PR) 276 ( STV) Lab: 232 (FPTP) 208 (List PR) 236 (STV) Lib Dems: 8 (FPTP) 47 (List PR) 26 (STV) Green: 1 (FPTP) 20 (List PR) 3 (STV)
Impact on Party Representation
- elections to devolved assemblies and European Parliament better reflect development of multiparty politics
- SNP been in power in Scotland since 2007
- parties such as UKIP and Greens are better represented than at Westminster as number of seats better reflects share of the vote
- UK’s two-party system was in failing health until 2017 (UK had a two-party system but this rose to almost 4 by 2015 only to fall back to 2.8 in 2017)
- ‘effective number of parliamentary parties’ (ENPP) (based on the share of seats in HOC) only increased from 2 to 2.5
- FPTP acted as a life support machine for the two-party system by holding back not halting advance of multiparty politics
- big increase in support for two main parties in 2017 meant distribution of seats less disproportionate than in 2015
- UKIP won 13% of the vote but only 1 seat and SNP’s 50% of the vote in Scotland but 95% of the seats
- 2015 general election one of the most disproportionate in postwar period (Conservatives won majority of 38% seats, UKIP won a single seat despite winning almost 13% of the vote, and the SNP won 95% of Scottish seats with 50% of the vote in Scotland)
- elections conducted under STV and AMS more proportional than Westminster elections but produce results rewarding larger parties and penalise smaller ones
- 2016 Welsh Assembly election notably disproportional
Impact on Voters Choice
- voters have greater choice under AMS, SV and STV than FPTP
- allow for split-ticket voting where an elector uses one of their votes to support their first-choice party or candidate but uses
their second vote to back a different party or candidate - has allowed voting behaviour to become more sophisticated
- electors recognise a vote for a minor party is less likely to be wasted under AMS and STV
- smaller parties gain a higher profile and so electors are more likely to vote for one in general elections
- evidence from other countries shows turnout in general elections conducted under PR is higher than where FPTP is used
- low turnout is common in ‘second-order’ elections that do not determine who forms national government
- turnout in elections to devolved institutions in UK and European Parliament has been significantly lower than for general elections
- turnout at general elections has declined since early 1990s
- turnout at local elections in England often poor
- AMS, SV and STV give voters greater choice but some found different electoral systems complex
- design of ballot papers changed after the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections when 146,000 ballots were completed incorrectly
- 2016 London mayoral election, 382,000 electors did not use their second preference vote and 220,000 cast it for the same candidate as their first preference
Which Electoral System is Best?
- some see most important task of an electoral system is to produce clear winner and strong government
- Majoritarian and plurality systems most appropriate because more likely to produce single- party government (more likely to effectively implement manifesto and more accountable as voters easily identify to reward or punish them)
- proportional representation often associated with unstable governments which fringe parties exercise influence that is disproportional to their popular support
- electoral systems using single-member constituencies score highly for those who value a clear link between an elected representative and their constituents
- under FPTP MPs have incentives to represent the interests of their geographical constituency and voters can easily identify their parliamentary representative
- those who most value fairness to smaller parties proportional
representation systems are the most attractive which tend to produce coalition governments and promote cooperation - under STV and regional list system government often consists of parties that have collectively secured more than 50% of the vote
- large multi-member constituencies produce most proportional outcome
- voter choice is regarded as valuable feature of electoral systems
- FPTP offers straightforward choice
- Closed regional list offers range of choice
- STV offers choice of candidates in same party
- evidence that parties are more likely to select women and minority candidates under AMS and STV
- comparative research shows turnout is higher in general elections that use proportional representation
- mixed systems like AMS combine elements of plurality and
proportional representation so provide degree of proportionality while rewarding the major parties offering link between MPs and
constituencies - might be regarded as providing the best of both worlds
- Wales election outcomes not been proportional as there are too few list seats where Labour has remained in power after every election despite fluctuations in vote share but never won majority
- the electoral system not effective at rewarding or penalising governing parties
- FPTP did not produce single-party governments with majorities in 2010, 2015 or 2017
- PR and AMS systems can be designed to deny representation to fringe parties (eg: parties much achieve a threshold of 5% of the vote to get seats in the London Assembly)
Electoral Reform
- labour embraced electoral reform after Conservatives won 4 successive general elections between 1979- 1997
- Blair government introduced new electoral systems for the European Parliament and devolved institution elections
- established Jenkins Commission to examine the case for electoral reform at Westminster
- Jenkins advised using alternative vote plus for general elections
- Blair did not support the change
- David Cameron agreed to hold a referendum on AV as part of the coalition agreement with the Lib Dems
- 2011 referendum produced a 68% vote against AV which appeared to end the prospect of electoral reform for Westminster despite FPTP becoming less effective
- 2017 general election Lib Dems proposed using STV for general elections but neither Conservatives or Labour supported
