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Gov & Politics > UK Elections > Flashcards

UK Elections Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the purpose of elections?

A
  • Gives legitimacy to the new leader
  • Gives them a mandate to carry out their manifesto
  • Can hold the government to account for their time in office
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2
Q

What is a by-election?

A

If a seat becomes vacant due to the death or resignation of an MP an election in that constituency is held

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3
Q

What types of elections are there in the UK?

A
  • General elections
  • By-elections
  • Local elections
  • Devolved assembly elections
  • European Parliamentary elections (previously)
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4
Q

What is a majoritarian system?

A

In an election the winner must get an absolute majority (>50%)

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5
Q

What is a plurality system?

A

The winner of an election is the person who gets more votes than any other candidate

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6
Q

Is there a majoritarian or plurality system in the UK?

A

Plurality - MPs do not need to get over 50% of the vote to be elected

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7
Q

Where is First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) used in the UK?

A

General elections

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8
Q

Features of First-Past-The-Post (FPTP)

A
  • Plurality system
  • Single-member constituencies
  • Disproportional outcome
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9
Q

Where is Supplementary Vote (SV) used in the UK?

A

London Mayoral elections

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10
Q

Features of Supplementary Vote (SV)

A
  • Majoritarian system
  • Voters give 1st and 2nd preference
  • Winning candidate has at least 50% of the vote (including 2nd choice votes if necessary)
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11
Q

In what elections has List PR been used?

A

European parliament elections

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12
Q

Features of List PR

A
  • Proportional system
  • Multi-member constituencies
  • Vote for a party, not a candidate
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13
Q

Where is Single Transferable Vote (STV) used in the UK?

A

Northern Ireland elections

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14
Q

Features of Single Transferable Vote (STV)

A
  • Proportional system
  • Rank candidates
  • Multi-member constituencies
  • Proportional outcome
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15
Q

Where is Additional Member System (AMS) used in the UK?

A

Scottish Parliament

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16
Q

Additional Member System (AMS) is a mix of which two other electoral systems?

A

FPTP and List PR

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17
Q

Example of FPTP producing a very disproportionate outcome

A

In 2015, in Belfast South, the SDP candidate was elected with only 24.5% of the vote

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18
Q

What is the average constituency size in the UK?

A

68,000

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19
Q

What is a safe seat?

A

A constituency where the incumbent party has a large majority

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20
Q

What was the safest seat in the 2015 general election?

A

Walton in Liverpool
Labour candidate won 81% of the vote

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21
Q

What is a marginal seat?

A

One where the two main parties often compete at elections and it is often unclear whether a party will be re-elected

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22
Q

Why is turnout often higher in marginal seats?

A

The votes are more likely to make a difference to the result

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23
Q

What was the most marginal seat in the 2015 general election?

A

Gower, where the Conservatives beat Labour by 27 votes

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24
Q

How often are the size of constituencies reviewed?

A

Every 8-12 years

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25
Q

How does UKIP’s result in 2015 show the weaknesses of FPTP?

A

They received 12.4% of the vote, but only picked up 1 seat

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26
Q

What percentage of the vote did the two main parties receive in 2010?

A

65%

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27
Q

What is a winner’s bonus?

A

The excess proportion of seats a party wins compared to the proportion of votes they receive

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28
Q

Vote share of the Conservatives in 2015 vs the proportion of seats they won

A

Vote share - 37%
Proportion of seats - 51%

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29
Q

Vote share of the Conservatives in 2015 vs the proportion of seats they won

A

Vote share - 37%
Proportion of seats - 51%

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30
Q

What is tactical voting?

A

Voting for a party who you may not 100% support to ensure another party is not elected

E.g. voting Labour to ensure that the Conservatives are not elected, even though you may support the Greens

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31
Q

What is a minority government?

A

When the governing party does not have a majority of seats in parliament, meaning they have to form deals with other parties to pass legislation

32
Q

What is a coalition government?

A

A government consisting of two or more parties which share policies and ministerial posts

33
Q

Advantages of FPTP

A
  • Simplicity
  • Clear outcome
  • Strong majority government
  • One representative per constituency
  • Keeps out extremist parties
34
Q

How is FPTP simple for voters?

A

Voters only need to cast one vote for their preferred party

35
Q

Disadvantages of FPTP

A
  • Disproportionate outcome
  • Plurality system
  • Limited choice
  • Safe seats make votes have unequal value
36
Q

How many times has the winner of the popular vote lost the general election?

A

Twice, 1951 and 1974

37
Q

Example of List PR giving a proportional outcome in the 2019 European election

A

The Brexit Party won 39% of the vote and got 40% of the seats

38
Q

Why should FPTP be replaced?

A
  • Other systems such as STV and List PR better represent vote share
  • The party with most votes does not always get most seats
  • Winner’s bonus
  • MPs are rarely elected with a majority of their constituency vote
39
Q

What factors influence why someone votes for a party?

A
  • Personality of candidate
  • Attractiveness of policies
  • Electoral system in place
  • Individual characteristics (age, gender)
  • Success of campaign
40
Q

What is the primacy model?

A

Suggests people vote based on long-term factors like age, class and gender

41
Q

What is the recency model?

A

Suggests people vote based on short-term factors such as current issues and leadership

42
Q

What is class dealignment?

A

Where people no longer vote based on their social class

43
Q

What is a swing voter?

A

A voter who is not loyal to one party and is therefore more open to political campaigning

44
Q

What is partisan dealignment?

A

Where people feel as though no single party truly represents them

45
Q

What have been the four main changes in voting behaviour?

A
  • Class dealignment
  • Partisan dealignment
  • More swing voters
  • Rise of identity politics
46
Q

What was the age at which someone was more likely to vote Conservative in the 2019 election?

A

39

47
Q

What % of 18-24 year olds voted Labour and Conservative?

A

Labour - 56%
Conservatives - 21%

48
Q

What % of 70+ year olds voted Labour and Conservative?

A

Labour - 14%
Conservatives - 67%

49
Q

Context of the 1983 election

A
  • Rising unemployment (over 3m)
  • Military victory over Argentina in the 1982 Falklands War
50
Q

What was the swing from Labour to Conservatives in 1983

A

3.8%

51
Q

What was the impact of the SDP on the 1983 election

A
  • Took many of Labour’s votes
  • This resulted in Labour coming third - or worse - in 292 out of 650 constituencies
52
Q

Vote share of the 3 main parties in the 1983 election

A

CON - 42.4%
LAB - 27.6%
SDP - 25.4%

53
Q

How did newspapers influence the 1983 election?

A
  • The Sun instructed voters to ‘Vote for Maggie’. They were the paper with the highest circulation
  • Only 22% of newspapers in circulation supported Labour
54
Q

Policies of Labour in the 1983 election

A
  • Seen as too left wing for the general public
  • Abolition of HoL
  • Unilateral nuclear disarmerment
  • Withdrawal from European Community
55
Q

Policies of Conservatives in 1983 election

A
  • Reduction in trade union power
  • Expansion of privatisation
56
Q

How did Thatcher campaign effectively in the 1983 election?

A
  • Thatcher travelled on her ‘Superbus’ to key constituencies
  • Focus on TV appearances
57
Q

Which war helped boost Thatcher’s popularity?

A

Falklands War

58
Q

Which new party broke away from Labour in 1983?

A

SDP-Liberal Alliance

59
Q

What was the name of Thatcher’s documentary about her premiership, published 4 months before the 1983 election?

A

The Woman at Number Ten

60
Q

How did the Conservative win in 1983 affect policy-making?

A
  • Further privatisation
  • Reduction in trade union power
  • Restructured UK economy
61
Q

What proportion of the votes did the SDP-Liberal Alliance win in 1983?

A

25% - just two points below Labour
Only won 23 seats (3.5%)

62
Q

Key conclusions from 1983 election

A
  • FPTP gave very disproportionate result
  • Thatcher as a leader managed to successfully promote her radical policies while Foot failed
  • The left-wing vote split between two parties
63
Q

Context of 1997 election

A
  • Major was running a minority government
  • Conservatives deeply divided over Europe
  • Conservatives overseen 1992 recession
  • Labour had made gains in the ‘87 and ‘92 elections
64
Q

How did Labour reinvent themselves for the 1997 election?

A
  • Rewrote Clause IV, changing the commitment to nationalisation
  • Emphasis on ‘third way’, accepting capitalism
65
Q

Vote share for three main parties in 1997

A

Labour: 43.2%
Conservatives: 30.7%
Lib Dems: 16.8%

66
Q

Number of seats for three main parties in 1997

A

Labour: 418
Conservatives: 165
Lib Dems: 46

67
Q

Which areas did the Conservatives do particularly badly in 1997?

A

London - vote share fell by 14%
South East - vote share fell by 13%

68
Q

How does the 1997 election show class dealignment?

A

Labour picked up the same percentage of votes in the C1 class as the Conservatives (lower-middle-class)

69
Q

Which newspaper switched to supporting Labour in 1997?

A

The Sun

70
Q

What percentage of newspapers were pro-Blair in 1997?

A

62%

71
Q

Policies of Labour in 1997

A
  • Moderate expansion of Welfare State with emphasis on personal responsibility
  • Tough on crime
  • Balance government spending
72
Q

Policies of Conservatives in 1997

A
  • Not too dissimilar from Labour
  • Tax reduction
  • Tough on crime
  • Crackdown on benefit fraud
73
Q

Which key Labour figure helped to secure the working class vote in 1997?

A

While Blair appealed to the middle classes, John Prescott (deputy leader) hailed from a working class background

74
Q

What was the Conservatives’ election strategy in 1997?

A

Focused on attacking Blair as Major was not seen as a strong enough leader to directly promote
|Poster of Tony Blair with devil eyes, captioned “New Labour New Danger”

75
Q

How did the 1997 Labour victory affect policy making?

A
  • Constitutional reform
  • Socialist changes such as introducing minimum wage
76
Q

Key conclusions of the 1997 election

A
  • Labour reinvented themselves as a modern party
  • Blair seen as a more charismatic leader than Major
  • Shows importance of the middle-class vote in determining election outcome

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