plurality electoral systems 3.1

Question 1

what are the three sort of electoral systems

Answer 1

• majoritarian
• pluralist
• proportional

Question 2

what is the meaning and example of a majoritarian electoral system

Answer 2

• has to get above 50% of the vote
  E.G. supplementary vote

Question 3

what is the meaning and example of a pluralist electoral system

Answer 3

• having more votes than anyone else
• E.G. FPTP

Question 4

what is the meaning and example of a proportional electoral system

Answer 4

• seats based on proportion on votes
• E.G. Additional member system (AMS),
  Single transferable vote (STV)

Question 5

what is the history of the ‘Fixed Parliament’ bill

Answer 5

• Foxed parliament bill meant 2/3 of MPs had to agree to an early general election
• Parliament Bill was passed which meant that this power resided within the power of the Prime Minister

Question 6

why does a two party system complicate FPTP and the credibility of its democracy

Answer 6

EXMAPLE:
- Alasdair McDonnell earned only 24.5% of his constituents seats for the SDLP in Northern Ireland
EXMAPLE:
- Reform Uk: 14.3% of the vote, 0.8% of the seats

Question 7

whats the ‘winner’s bonus’

Answer 7

when the percentage of seats in the house is larger than the percentage of votes
E.G. Labour winning 33.7% of votes, but 63.2% of seats

Question 8

what, in return, does the winner’s bonus imply about our political system

Answer 8

• we tend to have one strong party throughout the whole of the term as there is no real opposition.

Question 9

Safe seat

Answer 9

A seat in which the incumbent has a considerable majority over the
closest rival and which is largely immune from swings in voting
choice. The same political party retains the seat from election to
election

Question 10

marginal seats

Answer 10

A seat held by the incumbent with a small majority

Question 11

what are the advantages of FPTP

Answer 11

• simplicity
• strong government
• MP-constituency link
• centrist party

Question 12

how is ‘simplicity’ an advantage of FPTP

Answer 12

• people understand the concept
• less chance of spoiling your ballot
  E.G. 117,919 out of 47,587,254 votes cast were invalid in 2019

Question 13

how is ‘strong government’ an advantage of FPTP

Answer 13

It should produce a strong, single-party government able to effectively lead the country, rather than needing a compromise of parties
E.G. The Conservative Party gained an 80-seat majority in 2019

Question 14

how is ‘MP-constituency link’ an advantage of FPTP

Answer 14

• establishes local politicians and representation
• holds them accountable

Question 15

how is ‘centrist party’ an advantage of FPTP

Answer 15

• as it is clearly going to be a one party outcome from a two horse race
• less extremist ideas
  E.G. Reform UK taking 14.3% of the votes but 0.8% of the seats

Question 16

what are the disadvantages of FPTP

Answer 16

• lack of voter choice
• unequal vote value
• no majority needed
• winner’s bonus

Question 17

how is ‘lack of voter choice’ a disadvantage of FPTP

Answer 17

• people know that the winners will either be Labour or Conservative, so less people exercise their political rights and thoughts

Question 18

how is ‘unequal vote value’ a disadvantage of FPTP

Answer 18

uneven constituencies

Question 19

how is ‘no majority needed’ a disadvantage of FPTP

Answer 19

• more people can vote against the winning candidate than form them
  E.G. In 2019, 229 of the 650 seats were won with less than 50% of the vote

Question 20

how is ‘winner’s bonus’ a disadvantage of FPTP

Answer 20

• two main parties are over-represented
  E.G. The Conservatives took 43.6% of the vote in 2019 but 56.2% of the seats