P1 T3: Electoral Systems

Question 1

3.1 KTD: Do elections enhance or hinder democracy? Give the arguments for the enhance side

Answer 1

• Govts are formed with leading member of winning party as PM, they are effective in removing unwanted govts e.g. 1979, 1997, 2024
• Vital channel of communication between govt and people (MPs & constituents), makes politicians publicly accountable and removable
  -Elections enable participation and therefore legitimacy, ‘consent’ to be governed is given
• During campaigns, key issues are explained and the electorate is educated

Question 2

3.1 KTD: Do elections enhance or hinder democracy? Give the arguments for the hinder side

Answer 2

• Elections are not always successful in forming govts, e.g. 2010, 2017, also FPTP can sometimes remove wanted govts, e.g. 1970 - more voted for Heath’s govt but Wilson’s Lab party got more seats
• Doesn’t ensure representation - FPTP, elections have limited choice - voters don’t choose nominations
• Low turnout (voter apathy) - not legitimate
• Can miseducate the public with ‘fake news’, parties claim others are lying

Question 3

3.1 Summarise First-Past-the-Post

Answer 3

The candidate with the most number of votes in a constituency wins the seat, roughly 70,000 people per constituency, the winning candidate needs a plurality of votes

Question 4

3.1 What is a plurality of votes? Give an example

Answer 4

Getting more votes than anyone else, not necessarily a majority. e.g. Sadik Al Hassan won North Somerset in 2024 with 35.6%

Question 5

3.1 What is a majority of votes?

Answer 5

Getting over 50% of the votes

Question 6

3.1 Define proportional representation

Answer 6

A voting system where the number of votes a party gets is proportional to the number of seats they win

Question 7

3.1 Why is FPTP controversial? Give examples

Answer 7

• Constituencies only get one MP - diversity of opinions is not represented
• Bad for parties with a large vote spread but not enough to win in a single constituency e.g. 2024 Reform - 14% vote, 5 seats
• Tactical voting means people don’t end up voting for their favourite - undermines democracy, e.g. 40% in 2024 considered voting tactically
• Leads to ‘wrong winner’ elections - 1974, Cons. won most votes, Lab. won most seats

Question 8

3.1 KTD: Is FPTP fit for purpose? Give the arguments FOR

Answer 8

FOR:
- Delivers strong, single party govt - under PR any coalitions are not voted by the public
- Relationship between MPs and constituents is vital
- FPTP keeps extremist parties out of govt - ‘winner’s bonus’ e.g. Starmer won 270 more seats with just an extra 12% vote
- Provides 2 clear choices - reflects social divide
- FPTP is simple, easy, and quick

Question 9

3.1 KTD: Is FPTP fit for purpose? Give the arguments AGAINST

Answer 9

AGAINST:
- Strong govt but at the expense of an unrepresentative govt - primarily concerned with MPs so can deliver ‘wrong winner’ elections
- MP-constituent relationship is not unique to FPTP, STV & SV provides alternatives ways but maintains this link
- Discriminates against ALL smaller parties
- Party choice feels limited - people may not vote for ‘third’ parties as they have no chance, outcome is only decided by marginal seats, not all votes equal
- People can cope with a slightly more complicated system - ‘speed’ is overrated

Question 10

3.1 Summarise the 2015 general election, give the seats share, key facts, and the largest swings

Answer 10

Cons. - 331 seats (51%)
Lab. - 232 seats (36%)
LD - 8 seats
SNP - 56 seats (9%)
UKIP - 1 seat
Greens - 1 seat

-25% of votes went to parties other than C/L - a record
- SNP won 50% of the Scottish vote but 95% of the seats
- Greens won 1% less votes than SNP but got 1 seat vs 56
- 66% turnout

Biggest positive swing: UKIP +9.5%
Biggest negative swing: LD -15.2%

Question 11

3.1 Summarise the 2017 general election, give the seats share, key facts, and the largest swings

Answer 11

Cons. - 318 seats (49%)
Lab. - 262 seats (40%)
LD - 12 seats
SNP - 35 seats (5%)
UKIP - 0 seats
Greens - 1 seat

• 11% of the vote went to parties other than Cons., Lab., or LD
• 32% of MPs were women
• 69% turnout

Biggest positive swing: Labour +9.5%
Biggest negative swing: UKIP -10.8%

Question 12

3.1 Summarise the 2019 general election, give the seats share, key facts, and the largest swings

Answer 12

Cons. - 365 seats (56%)
Lab. - 203 seats (31%)
LD - 11 seats
SNP - 48 seats (7%)
Brexit - 0 seats
Greens - 1 seat

• 11.5% of the vote went to parties other than Lab., Cons., LD
• SNP won 45% of Scottish vote but 82% of the seats

Biggest positive swing: LD +4.2%
Biggest negative swing: Labour -7.9%

Question 13

3.1 Summarise the 2024 general election, give the seats share and key facts

Answer 13

Lab. - 412 seats (63%)
Cons. - 121 seats (19%)
LD - 72 seats (11%)
SNP - 9 seats
Reform - 5 seats
Greens - 4 seats

• Starmer won despite only 34% of the vote
• Reform got 3% more of the vote than LD but 5 seats vs 72 seats

Question 14

3.1 Describe what Supplementary Vote (SV) is and how it works

Answer 14

Voter makes a 1st and 2nd preference, if no candidate reaches 50% of 1st preferences then all candidates but the top 2 are eliminated and second preferences are added to decide the winner

Question 15

3.1 Give the advantages of Supplementary Vote (SV)

Answer 15

Simple and easy to understand, constituencies remain the same, hard for extreme parties, still likely 1 party gets a majority, more proportional than FPTP

Question 16

3.1 Give the disadvantages of Supplementary Vote (SV)

Answer 16

Doesn’t guarantee 50%, need to come in the top 2 if you want any chance - ‘third parties’ like LD lose out, still under represents small parties, voters can fill out the ballot wrong

Question 17

3.1 What kind of elections has supplementary vote (SV) been used for in the past? When was it used from and until?

Answer 17

Used in mayoral elections and Police and Crime commissioner elections from 2000-2022, scrapped by Boris Johnson and replaced with FPTP

Question 18

3.1 Describe what Additional Member Systems (AMS) are and how they work

Answer 18

2 votes - 1 for a constituency using a plurality system and 1 for an additional representative on a party list

Question 19

3.1 What is a list system? What is a closed/open list?

Answer 19

No constituencies, each party puts up enough candidates in an order, voters vote for a party, candidates selected from top of the list until their proportionate of vote matches seats

Closed list - voters have no say in the list order
Open list - voters have a say in the list order

Question 20

3.1 Give the advantages of Additional Member Systems (AMS)

Answer 20

Mixed elements balance fairness with equal representation, broadly proportional but chance of a single party is kept alive, allows wide considered choices (voters can vote for a candidate but then vote for the other party), excellent proportionality

Question 21

3.1 Give the disadvantages of Additional Member Systems (AMS)

Answer 21

Single member constituencies reduces likelihood of good proportionality, representation is less effective than FPTP due to larger constituencies, creates confusion, complicated

Question 22

3.1 Describe the use of Additional Member Systems (AMS) in Wales in 2016

Answer 22

Welsh parliament 2016 - 40 constituencies, additional 20 members from a closed party list, Lab. received 27 seats from constituency members + 2 top up MPs, UKIP received 0 seats + 7 top ups, 12% of seats mirrors 13% vote share

Question 23

3.1 Describe the Single Transferable Vote (STV)

Answer 23

Voters rank their preferences in numerical order, after votes are cast those with fewer than the quota are eliminated and their votes are transferred, those with more than the quota also have their votes transferred

Question 24

3.1 Where has Single Transferable Vote (STV) been used in the past?

Answer 24

Northern Ireland Assembly elections and NI & Scottish local council elections

Question 25

3.1 Give the advantages of Single Transferable Vote (STV)

Answer 25

• Highly proportional system
• Several members per constituency - constituents can choose who to contact
• Gives more choice
• No safe seats
• Encourage seeking of 1st place votes (discourages negative campaigning)
• No tactical voting

Question 26

3.1 Give the disadvantages of Single Transferable Votes (STV)

Answer 26

• Strong, single party govt is unlikely
• Multimember constituencies encourage competition between same party members
• Can lead to huge constituencies - some constituents feel remote
• ‘Donkey voting’ - people vote based on the order on the ballot paper
• Papers get big & confusing

Question 27

3.1 Explain the advantages and disadvantages of Single Transferable Vote (STV) in Northern Ireland

Answer 27

Advantages:
Increased turnout, in 2017 NI assembly elections reached 65% (highest since first election in 1998), 95% of voters said filling in the ballot was easy

Disadvantages:
High levels of spoilt ballots as mistakes made

Question 28

3.1 KTD: Has the impact of new electoral systems made the case for reform? Give arguments FOR

Answer 28

FOR:
- New systems provide better representation
- Coalition govts in devolved assemblies have been successful
- Other systems have good MP/constituent links
- Other systems give smaller parties fairer representation
- Other systems give voters the ability to choose for a candidate and their party or a candidate and a different party

Question 29

3.1 KTD: Has the impact of new electoral systems made the case for reform? Give the arguments AGAINST

Answer 29

AGAINST:
- FPTP ensures the party with the most votes win and governs
- FPTP provides stable, single party govt
- MP/constituent links are excellent under FPTP
- Other systems can allow extremists to emerge, FPTP doesn’t
- FPTP is simple and easy to operate

Question 30

3.2 Give the features of referendums and how they have been used in the UK

Answer 30

• A vote for the public that is not legally binding
• Provide legitimacy to constitutional changes
• Resolve questions of major consequence

Question 31

3.2 Give 5 examples of referendums in the UK

Answer 31

1973 - Should NI remain a part of the UK? - 99% voted yes

1998 - Good Friday Agreement in NI - 71% voted yes

2011 - AV system - 68% voted no

2014 - Scottish independence? - 55% voted no

2016 - Brexit - 52% voted leave

Question 32

3.2 Summarise the events of the Brexit Referendum

Answer 32

2004-13 - UKIP increases at every election

2013 - Cameron was concerned that UKIP would take Tory votes at the next election & the Tories would lose power, so he made a political decision to hold a referendum

2015 - Cameron wins a majority

2016 - Cameron thought he would win as all big guns on his side - CBI, Obama, he said Farage was racist, didn’t realise Johnson and Gove would campaign for leave, Corbyn was unenthusiastic for remain

Question 33

3.2 What significance did the Brexit referendum have?

Answer 33

• Showed change is more attractive than staying where you are
• Showed a weakness of refs. - public can vote against your campaign just because they dislike you
• Dishonest politicians can manipulate the public by reducing complicated issues down to a single slogan
• Led to 3.5 yrs of political instability - govt. did nothing to do with EU
• March 2017-19 - parliament failed to deliver Brexit

Question 34

3.2 Summarise the events of the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum

Answer 34

1979 & 1997 - refs. for Scottish Ind. (successful in ‘97)

2011 - SNP won a majority in Scotland - shifted from wanting more power for Scotland to Scottish independence

2012 - Edinburgh agreement - ref. date agreed upon

2014 - Cameron was a Unionist - correct as 55% of electorate voted NO

Question 35

3.2 What was the significance of the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum?

Answer 35

• Change from ‘party politics’ to ‘independence politics’
• 2015 - Lab. lost 40/41 Scottish seats, SNP won 56/59 seats
• 2016 - 62% of Scottish voters voted REMAIN
• 2017 & 2019 - Sturgeon requested May then Johnson for another ref. - both times refused

Question 36

3.2 KTD: Should referendums be used in the UK’s representative democracy? Give the arguments FOR

Answer 36

FOR:
- Electorate can decide on issues regardless of party politics (may not have had the chance to vote on this issue at general elections)
- More engagement with and education about important issues - higher turnout, now more people know about the EU
- Promote participation - everyone has an equal vote unlike FPTP, e.g. 2014 Scottish Ind. ref - 84.5% turnout
- Settle long standing disputes, e.g. Scottish parliament introduced due to 1997 ref. which makes it difficult to remove
- Govts. more responsible as they have to listen to the public

Question 37

3.2 KTD: Should referendums be used in the UK’s representative democracy? Give the arguments AGAINST

Answer 37

AGAINST:
- Undermine authority of parliament - they were voted in to make decisions and public may go against them
- Campaigns can mislead/oversimplify complicated issues - £350m bus, Cameron claimed leaving would make house prices soar, medicine shortages, 0.5m jobs lost
- May result in voter apathy/fatigue - decisions made by those who are bothered to vote, reduce legitimacy, public has limited knowledge of complicated issues, e.g. Scotland, EU ref. had 67% turnout vs 72% nationally due to fatigue
- Questions asked repeatedly until the ‘right’ answer wins - Call for a 2nd referendum right after the 1st in 2016, S&W devolution refs. failed in 1979 but succeeded in 1997, highly devisive
- Enables leaders to manipulate political agendas - govt. chooses when to call them, what the question is, e.g. govt. criticised in 2016 for spending £9m of taxpayers’ money on a leaflet describing the benefits of remaining