The electoral system Flashcards
Name some of the reforms that have been introduced to address complaints of corruption in the FOTP or changing in political attitudes
1 constituency boundaries
2 extent of the franchise
3 the ballot
What did the reform acts of 1832 and 1867 do
Gave the vote to more men
How did these reforms continued
Extended franchise to women and 18 year olds
Which successful electoral systems have been introduced in the uk which have brought critics to FPTP
1 the additional members system in wales Scotland and Greater London assembly
2 single transferable vote in Northern Ireland
3 between 2000 and 2022 supplementary vote was used in London for election of Lord Mayor
What does accountability mean in the political sense
Citizens judge their elected representative for their policies and actions during their time in office
An opportunity to participate in democracy
What do elections offer people
Opportunity to elect a government using their vote to try to shape policies of the nation and hold their elected representative accountable for their actions over the previous=ious term
What are the creatures of all elections in UK
1 secret ballot
2 universal suffrage
3 regular elections regulated independently
4 clear voter choice on the ballot
What is an electoral system
Process by which votes cast can be transferred in to elected seats
What are the 3 electoral systems
1 proportional
2 plurality
3 majoritarian
What is a party system
1 the number of parties that have a realistic chance of forming a government
2 a result of the electoral process that is chosen
What is a mandate
The right to act on behalf of a constituency as its representative
For the party that wins an election the mandate is the authority to carry out the policies within the party manifesto
What is a majority
Mathematically a majority is more than half
How is a elected representative and government chosen
1 voters choose positions to represent their views
2 candidates campaign on their personal beliefs or policies or if they are a politician on their partiys manifesto
3 by winning an election the person gains the mandate to act on behalf of their constituency
4 in most UKK elections , the election of an individuals in each constituency leads to the formation of a government - usually the party that won the majority of seats
What is a legitimate government
Government formed as a result of a free and fair election - they have the right to exercise authority over an area and the people within it
What is participation
Taking part in a political process ie voting
What is needed for a government to be legitimate
The participation of voters
What is turn out
Number usually a % of eligible voters who took part in the election
What Is the consequence of a low turnout
The election result does not effectively represent the view of the public and legitimacy of the elected government is undermined
What do most governments in th UK gain
A majority of seats but not majority of votes cast - but regarded as legitimate having won a majority of seats under FPTP rules
How do elections limit government power
1 a government know’s they will face another election in about 5 years and in order to retain power they must think about the actions they take - limiting their power.
2 Elections also result in of those who do not form a government legitimately elected opposition who see k to scrutinise and challenge government policy
What are the 3 categories that the electoral system fall Into
1 majoritarian
2 plurality
3 proportional
What is ,majoritarian
A majority of 50% + 1 votes to win - the minimum number of votes need to win a seat or the number of seats needed by party to form a government
It is the supplementary vote system
What is plurality
Having more votes than anyone else- FPTP system
What is proportional system
Allocates seats roughly in line with the number of votes gained by a party - additional member system and single transfers sable vote
Describe the fixed term parliament act and elections
1 passed in 2011
2 laid out in legislation that UK elections should happen every 5 years on a fixed date
3 previously the PM decided when elections were called
4 act does allow for a snap election if 2/3 of MPs vote4 it can happen
What did the conservatives do to the act
2019 overturned it giving power to call an election back to the PM
What is a constituency
Geographical area containing voters who elect a representative to act on their behalf
What is a single member constituency
A constituency represented by 1 individual
What is a minority government
A party that has a minority
Describe how the purity system is used
1 single member constiruencies
2 it is a plurity system
3 votes are cast for a person nit a party
4 uk is divided into 650 constituencies each with an electorate of about 70,000 people
5 each constituency is represented by 1 seat in Hoc C hall by an MP (single member constituencies)
6 each party selects a candidate to run for election in a constituency
7 voters cast a single ballot by placing X in a box next to candidates name
8 candidate with the most votes wins the constituency seat
The winning candidate in each constituency is sent to be an MP in parliament
Party with majority of MPs can form a government
If no party has a majority 2 or more parties may form a coalalition
Describe a ballot paper for FPTP
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by surname
If they are standing on behalf of a party the party logo is on the right
Identify the unusual results at the last 4 elections
2010 - Lib Dem /cons coalition
2015 - very small conservative majority
2017 - agreement between conservative and DUP who pledged 10 elected members to support May in money or no confidence (confidence and supply)
2019 Johnson won a sizeable majority
Why does the plurality FPTP system become a 2 party system
To win a seat they have to win more votes than the person who came 2nd- called winner takes all anyone not coming first gains nothing .
FPTP system benefits parties that have a lot of support in big geographical areas
Eg labour - concentrated in urban areas conservative concentrated in rural areas
Smaller parties find it difficult to compete - supporters are thinly spread across the country
What is the winners bonus
The effect of FPTP which over rewards the winning party in an election
How many seats does a party need to win to for a government
331
What is the advantage of a strong single party government
1 can form a strong stable government
2 it can pass laws with ease
3 unlikely to face unexpected election
What is a coalition
A government created from 2 or more parties following an election
What is confidence and supply
An agreement between 2 parties
in which a party or independent members of a parliament agree to support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes.
State the differences between coalition and confidence and supply
Coalition
1 formal agreement between 2 or more parties both forming a government
2 results in creation of joint policies both are expected to support
3 the government formed from members of both parties
Confidence and supply
1 more informal agreement between government and another party
2 results in an agreement to support the government on issues of confidence and supply in return for government supporting issues important to the party
3 government is formed from one party
What are safe seats
A party can almost guarantee victory in a particular seat
What are marginal seats
Where voter loyalty in a constituency is more evenly split between parties - winner is more difficult to predict
What is a spoiled ballot
A ballot that is incorrectly filled in and so is ignored
What are the advantages of FPTP
1 simplicity - simple process and produces quick result. Voters know how it works
2 strong government - should produce a strong single party government who can effectively lead the country
3 MP constituency link - it gives a clear link between area and representative and accountability to constituents
4 central policies - it keeps extreme its parties out of office
What are the disadvantages of FPTP
1 lack of voter choice - the 2 party system gives voters a lack of real choice which reduces turnout or encourages tactical voting
2 unequal vote value - because constituency sizes are unequal the votes of one person can be more valuable than another depending where they live undermining the principles of democracy
3 no majority needed- to win a constituency only a plurality is needed so more people can actually vote against the winning abdicate - undermining legitimacy and wasting votes of those for the losing candidate
4 disproportionate result - compared to the % of votes they receive the 2 main parties are over represented through the winner bonus
What challenges have FPTP seen in 21st century
1 more safe seats - a significant jump of safe seats in recent elections and marginal seats which reinforces the increased inequality in the value of the vote across the uk
2 it can create disproportionate results . With more votes being cast for third parties the result has been more disproportionate
3 failure to deliver a strong single party government - a number of recent elections have cast doubt if FPTP produces a strong, stable government
Should FPTP be replaced in UK GE
Yes
1 recent elections demonstrate FPTP no longer can be relied on to fulfil the promise of a strong single government
2 produces poor results regardless of voter choice -
3 the government it delivers can be said to lack legitimacy as it does not have the majority of the votes
3 the inequality in voter value across the uk does not fit the principle of one person one vote
4 many votes are wasted and have little impact on election outcome, undermines legitimacy and encourages tactical voting and may discourage turnout — all of these undermine democratic principles
5 2 party system demonstrates a lack of true competition undermines democratic principles
No
1 it is understood by the public so they are more likely to vote improving the legitimacy of the government
2 governments produces have mostly been strong and stable
3 it is possible for smaller parties to so well but keep extreme parties out of office so allows best of both worlds
4 the choice for voters in a 2 party system and likelihood of single party government makes it easy for voters to hold a government to account
5 maintains strong link between geographical constituencies and a specific `MP so whole of UK is represented in parliament
2011 a referendum took place over whether to replace FPTP what were the drawbacks of the referendum
1 public only given choice to replace with AV
What is the additional members system AMS
Electoral system that uses 2 votes - one for local representative and one for regional with aim of a more proportional result - used in Scotland and Welsh parliament
How does AMS system work
1 at polls vote is given 2 ballots to cast a vote
2 in the constituency vote they are voting for a person and in the regional vote for a party.
2 first , vote works same way as FPTP
3 athe second part is designed to correct problems created by FPTP and uses d’hont formula - number of votes for a party divided by number of seats a party has gained as constituency level +1 , the first seat is allocated to the party with the highest number - this is repeat until all seats are allocated to a party
3 each person in Scotland is represented by local MSP in their constituency and several in their region
What is the impact of AMS
Likely to result in multi party system
2 smaller parties can have limited success
3 likely result in coalition
Advantages of AMS
1 proportional result - second stage tries to correct flaws of FPTP the more seats a party gains in sonstituency the harder it is to gain regional as its votes are divided by a higher number - reduces wasted votes and ensures more parties have a chance
2 split ticket voting - voters have more choice with 2 votes to cast(can use their 2 votes on 2 different parties - split ticketing ) encourages more parties to run
3 government with broad popularity - for a single party government party must have broad popularity across the country not just in pockets
4 greater representation - all areas are represented by constituency and regional representatives there is more chance for voters that someone will share their ideas represents them - increases turnout
5 MP constituency lin - each constituency is small area and each MP is attached to a a constituency giving votes a direct link to national politics and encourage engagement
Disadvantages of AMS
1 more complicated - can put voters off as they feel votes are mathematically manipulated
2 unlikely single party government, coalition more likely- governments may be weaker and find it difficult to pass polices they campaigned
3 FPTP is used for the first round so has the FPTP disadvantages
4 different types of representation - it creates 2 tiers constituency and regional and this can cause tension and confusion for voters and blurs accountability
5 party control - in regional vote the party controls list of candidates that voters can support so influences party leadership
Where is single transferable vote STV bad where is it used
Used in northern Irish assembly and the only system in Uk allowing ordinal voting - this allows voters to rank candidates in Oder of preference
How does STV work
1 Northern Ireland is divided into 18 multi member regions each electing 6 representatives to send to the Northern Ireland assembly
2voter has ballot paper showing all candidates running in the region and they rank the candidate
3 when election is over total number of ballots cast in each region is counted
4 in order to win a candidate needs to achieve the drop quota
Total number of votes +1/number of seats available +1 and _+1 to the answer
5 candidate who achieve drop quota are given a seat
6 if there are seats remaining and no one else has reached the drop quota the candidate with fewest votes is eliminated and votes are redistributed
7 the process continues until all seats in the region are filled
What is DUP
Democratic unionist party
What are the effects of using STV
The result is a multiparty system and produces a coalition government
Parties have to work together after the election to agree how to govern
Safe seats are reduced and the value of each vote is more uniform
What are the advantages of STV
1 proportional result - delivers results that closely correlate between % of votes cast and % of seats gained increasing legitimacy of results
2 voter choice - is increased between and within parties. If they support a party but don not like the candidate they can choose someone else from the party
3 greater representation - multi member constituencies means a voter is likely to have someone elected who shares their ideology or belief
What are the disadvantages of STV
1 more complicated process after the vote has happened and this could reduce turnout
2 unlikely single party government - proportional nature of STV means a coalition is the most likely result which can be weaker than a single party
3 constituency links - with no local elected representative and large multi member constituencies the link between elected represents twice and local area is weaker
What does the Good Friday agreement ensure about the Northern Ireland executive
There has to be a coalition in government
What is a supplementary vote SV majoritarian system
Voters can express 2 preferences
How does the supplementary vote work
1London is treated as 1 big constituency for London mayor
2 ballot papers have all the candidates names listed and 2 boxes . Others put an x in each column
3 all first choices are counted and if anyone has a simple majority they win and second preferences are ignored
4 if no one has a majority all but the top 2 candidates are eliminated and their votes ignored
5 with 2 candidates left and all votes redistributed one person has a majority
What are the effects of SV
Likely to result in 2 party system and produce strong single party government
What are the advantages of SV
1 majority result - SV ensures that the winning candidate has a secure majority, increasing legitimacy and a strong stable government
2 voter choice - voters have more choice than FPTP knowing they can vote for a smaller party and use their second vote to ensure their vote is not wasted
3 simple system - it is easy to understand how votes are cast and counted in this system
4 extremist parties - requiring the winner to gain a majority means it is unlikely for small or extreme parties to be successful
What are the disadvantages of SV
1 two party dominance - unlikely that 3rd parties do well and the result is not proportional
2 a false majority - a candidate only needs to gain a majority in the votes that count, in the second round the vote if anyone with no second preference is not counted meaning the winning candidate does not have a true majority
3 wasted votes - these have no impact
4 tacticle voting - sv might encourage tactical use of second preference
What is the impact of UK electoral system on types of government
Proportional system has led to a greater number of coalition or minority governments being formed
What is the impact of uk electoral system on parties and the party system
The number of parties competing in elections and forming governments has increased
What is the impact of the UK electoral system on voters and voter choice
Using different systems to FPTP improves turnout
List 4 recent uses of referendums
1 give more power to Welsh assembly 2011
2 when considering replacing FPTP 2011
3 giving Scotland the vote for independence in 2014
4 UK public vote to leave EU in 2016
What is a referendum
A yes or no vote offered to the public on a single issue
When might a referendum be called
1 in response to public pressure
2 help resolve a controversial issue dividing a party
3 to lend legitimacy to a large institute by change
Are referendums good for the uk
Yes
They can encourage participation and education
W they provide clear answers to political issues
3 they have enhance liberal democracy by limiting government power
4 the management of a referendum is overseen by independent electoral commission so limits government manipulation
5 provides another way for the public to engage in politics between elections
No
1 turnout is often low which undermines legitimacy
W close results can be decisive
3 campaigns around referendums can be misleading and raise questions over legitimacy
4 the government decides if and when to call a referendum - giving them power
5 they have undermined democracy in uk challenging key principles in which elected representitives act in the interests of the voters
6 issues raised are often to complex to be just a yes or no and voters don’t have enough information
7 parliamentary sovereignty is undermined-on,8
