The electoral system Flashcards

Question

Describe the fixed term parliament act and elections

Answer 1

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

Answer 2

2019 overturned it giving power to call an election back to the PM

Answer 3

Geographical area containing voters who elect a representative to act on their behalf

Answer 4

A constituency represented by 1 individual

Answer 5

A party that has a minority

Answer 6

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

Answer 7

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by surname If they are standing on behalf of a party the party logo is on the right

Answer 8

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

Answer 9

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

Answer 10

The effect of FPTP which over rewards the winning party in an election

Answer 11

1 can form a strong stable government 2 it can pass laws with ease 3 unlikely to face unexpected election

Answer 12

A government created from 2 or more parties following an election

Answer 13

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.

Answer 14

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

Answer 15

A party can almost guarantee victory in a particular seat

Answer 16

Where voter loyalty in a constituency is more evenly split between parties - winner is more difficult to predict

Answer 17

A ballot that is incorrectly filled in and so is ignored

Answer 18

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

Answer 19

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

Answer 20

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

Answer 21

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

Answer 22

1 public only given choice to replace with AV

Answer 23

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

Answer 24

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

Answer 25

Likely to result in multi party system 2 smaller parties can have limited success 3 likely result in coalition

Answer 26

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

Answer 27

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

Answer 28

Used in northern Irish assembly and the only system in Uk allowing ordinal voting - this allows voters to rank candidates in Oder of preference

Answer 29

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

Answer 30

Democratic unionist party

Answer 31

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

Answer 32

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

Answer 33

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

Answer 34

There has to be a coalition in government

Answer 35

Voters can express 2 preferences

Answer 36

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

Answer 37

Likely to result in 2 party system and produce strong single party government

Answer 38

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

Answer 39

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

Answer 40

Proportional system has led to a greater number of coalition or minority governments being formed

Answer 41

The number of parties competing in elections and forming governments has increased

Answer 42

Using different systems to FPTP improves turnout

Answer 43

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

Answer 44

A yes or no vote offered to the public on a single issue

Answer 45

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

Answer 46

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