Paper 1: Electoral Systems Flashcards
What are the functions of elections?
Representation Choosing a government Holding government to account Encourage participation Give people influence over policy
What is the criteria for deciding which is the best electoral system?
Which:
Gives a fair result as far as possible
Gives a choice of candidates
Has an effective link between the elected representative and the constituency
Gives a strong govt. that can pass laws but can be held accountable by electorate
What are the sizes of constituencies regulated by?
Regulated by an independent Boundary Commission which recommends periodic changes based on movements of population
How many constituencies are there in the UK?
650
Advantages of FPTP: Speed and simplicity
V. easy to use, result usually known morning after polling day and new govt. rapidly formed
Advantages of FPTP: Strong and stable government
Tends to promote two-party system, giving voters clear choice and majority and can be removed at next general election, occasionally produces coalition govts. but normally produces a clear majority
Advantages of FPTP: Exclusion of extremists
Although there’s a lack of representation of smaller parties, this is good when these parties are extremists as they are much less likely to gain a foothold
Advantages of FPTP: Strong link between MPs and they constituencies
Most constituencies are small and a single MP is responsible for them and hold surgeries
Disadvantages of FPTP: MPs and governments can be elected on less than 50% of the vote
More than 1/2 of MPs typically don’t receive majority vote, just at least 1 more than the second place candidate
Disadvantages of FPTP: Lack of proportionality
It exaggerates the results and doesn’t reflect that the no. of ppl voting for the two largest parties are in decline
Disadvantages of FPTP: Winner’s bonus
Winning party gets a share of seats in excess to amount of votes it receives if a larger no. of seats are marginal between the two main parties
Disadvantages of FPTP: Limited voter choice
Party only puts 1 candidate forward so no representation of different views within a party
Disadvantage of FPTP: Votes are of unequal value
In small constituencies a vote counts for more than it would in a large one
74.4% of votes cast in 2015 election were wasted
What is an electoral desert?
A region of the country that contains many safe seats e.g large areas in the south of England
What is a marginal seat?
One held with a small majority e.g a 10% margin would need a swing of 5% to the rival party to take it
Turnout tends to be higher here
How many marginal seats were there in the 2017 general election
97/650 constituencies won by a margin of 5% of the vote or less
What is an electoral system?
A system that converts votes in an election into seats. May also refer to a process of electing a single leader, such as a president or mayor
Example of FPTP giving exaggerated number of seats
1997 Labour won 43% of votes and 63% of seats
2005 Labour won 35% of votes and 55% of seats
2010 Lib Dems won 23% of vote and 8.8% of seats
What’s a majoritarian system?
Winning candidate needs to secure an absolute majority (50% + 1)
What’s a plurality system?
The winner needs one more vote than their rival (FPTP)
What is a mixed system?
Combines plurality + PR. Some MPs are elected using FPTP whereas the rest are elected using PR
How odes Alternative Vote (AV) work?
You rank the candidate in order of preference, can select as many or few as you want
If candidate wins more than 50% of the vote they win
If nobody gets over 50%, last place candidate is eliminated and their votes are equally distributed between remaining candidates
This continues until someone has over 50% of the vote
Advantages of Alternative Vote
Reduces need for tactical voting
Reduces no. of safe seats
More likely to produce candidate with more support
Disadvantages of Alternative Vote
Can in some circumstances create more disproportional outcomes than FPTP
Prone to spoiling ballot as ppl may just rank in order written on the list
