U1T3 The Additional Member System Flashcards
Where is AMS used?
Scottish parliament, welsh parliament and the Greater London Assembly.
What type of system is AMS, and what does this mean?
A hybrid system of 2/3 FPTP and 1/3 using the more proportional: list system.
advantages of AMS:
- specialises in being proportionally skewed from FPTP.
- each voter will always have an accountable single constituency representative.
- allows minority parties to gain traction.
Disadvantages of AMS:
- regularly causes coalition governments.
- the two votes may confuse some voters.
- the regional SMPs are seen as more important than the constituency SMPs.
What is a closed and open list system and how does this apply to AMS?
A closed list system has a pre determined order of candidates on their list. An open list however influences the candidates that get a seat using the electors preference.
How does the variable top up system work?
Adjusts the under and over represented parties in the FPTP seats by adding votes to the under represented, and vice versa.
What did the electoral reform society estimate about safe seats in the uk?
The Electoral Reform Society estimated that 316 out of the 650 are safe, deeming the majority of votes as wasted.
how does the AMS work
Voters have two ballot papers. On the first is a list of candidates who want to be the local Member of Parliament (MP). In Scotland, they are called Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and in Wales, Members of the Senedd (MS). Like a Westminster election, the voter marks their preferred candidate with a cross.
On the second ballot paper is a list of parties who want seats in parliament. Each party will publish a list of candidates in advance. A vote for a party is a vote to make more of their list of candidates into MPs.
