UK- Elections and referendums Flashcards
Elections and referendums
Explain and analyse three arguments in favour of reforming the system used for westminster elections
intro: uk uses a number of voting systems but the main one is PFTP (majoritarian system)
1-Unrepresentative nature. In 2019 the conservatives won 77 more votes than they would have in a proportional system
2-does not always produce majority. 2015,2017
3-Low turnout. FPTP means many people have less interest in voting in a two horse race. especially in safe seats.Wasted votes. 22.6 million votes were wasted in the 2019 election.
Elections and referendums
Explain and analyse the role of media in elections you have studied. One must be 1997, one earlier and one after
intro: media is the way is which the wider public is informed via broadcasting,TV , radio and social media
1-1983. Media influence fell to the newspapers. The sun : “vote for maggie”
2-1997. The sun : “its the sun wot won it” blair who flew to meet sun owner
3-2017. May refused to appear on televised debates, made her seem weak and she lacked personality
Elections and referendums
Explain and analyse three arguments for the greater use of referendums in the uk
intro: referendums - a general vote by the electorate on a single political question
1-Greater turnout and interest. 84.5% turnout in the Scottish referendum 2014. People are passionate about the issue compared to PCC which has never been higher then 15%
2-Education. For issues such as scottish referendum and Brexit referendum many people seek better education as it is a single issue eg brexit bus with £350 million figure that was untrue
3-Representation. The specific referendums allow for direct beliefs of the majority of the population to be shown and to settle issues eg AV referendum in 2011
What is a referendum ?
A direct vote in which the electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal
3 key examples of referendums, their results and turnout.
- BREXIT (2016) - 52% leave on a 72% turnout
- SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE (2014) - 55% voted to remain in the UK on a 84% turnout
- ALTERNATIVE VOTE (2011) - 67% voted against on a 41% turnout
ADVANTAGES of referendums
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- Direct democracy - referendums give people the chance to participate in decision-making and express direct consent on specific issues
- Legitimacy - important constitutional issues can be settled with greater legitimacy through a referendum
DISADVANTAGES of referendums
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- Majoritarian - in a close vote, a small majority can impose its will (wasted votes)
- Voter education - may not fully understand the issue eg Brexit had many misleading campaigns
- Erosion of sovereignty - some argue that referendums undermine parliamentary sovereignty, as the final say lies with the electorate instead of the elected
What are 2 roles of referendums in UK politics ?
- Supplement representative democracy - referendums in the UK do not replace parliamentary sovereignty, but instead help to improve it
- Settling issues - Can settle contentious issues, such as the Scottish independence referendum, which many politicians may find difficult to address
What are the 4 types of elections held in the UK?
- General elections
- Devolved assembly elections
- Local elections for councillors
- also used to have European Parliament elections
What is the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011?
Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 - required the commission to report at five-yearly intervals
What are 3 purposes of elections ?
- To form Governments
- ensure representation
- Maintain democratic legitimacy
What are the types of representation ?
- Burkean Trusteeship
- Mandate theory
- Delegate
What is the Trusteeship theory and what are some criticisms ?
Trusteeship: the idea that representatives (MPs, for example) use their superior knowledge and experience to act for the people- they don’t just do what the people would want, instead, they try to act in their best interests, because the people may not know what is in their best interests. This has been argued to be an out-of-date way of viewing representation.
What is the Mandate theory and what are some criticisms ?
Mandate: this means ‘an instruction or command to govern’ and is sometimes used to describe the right to govern. By winning an election. A government has had its manifesto (set of policy proposals) approved by the public, so they have the right to carry out those policies. This has been argued to be a misleading way of describing representation in the UK, as most voters are unlikely to have read manifestos in detail. Once in power, there is little to stop a government from breaking or not fulfilling manifesto pledges.
FPTP ADVANTAGES
- used in general elections
- majoritarian system
- It gives voters a clear choice between two parties with distinct programmes for government
- It establishes the constituency link between MPs and voters- this is good representation
- Winning parties can fulfil their manifesto pledges without the need to compromise in a coalition
- It allows for strong governments- governments have a healthy majority and can get things done
FPTP DISADVANTAGES
- It is not proportional- the percentage of seats won by parties does not reflect the percentage of the vote they received. This is undemocratic
- It creates lots of safe seats and wasted votes
- Governments win power with only 35-40% of the vote, so are not supported by most of the population
- It leads to few checks and balances on government power, as governments can easily pass legislation
- Power is concentrated too narrowly, and small parties do not get the level of representation their support merits
What is Single Transferable Vote ?
- Used for the Northern Ireland Assembly, local government in Northern Ireland and Scotland
- Constituencies are multi-member
- Candidates are ranked in order of preference
- Candidates are elected if they receive a certain quota of votes, which is calculated as the total number of votes cast, divided by (number of seats available+1), then add 1
- Counting takes place in several rounds, the bottom candidate dropping out each time and votes for that candidate being transferred to second/third preferences
- This is a quota system
Single Transferable Vote: Advantages
- Can be highly proportional
- Creates competition for candidates from the same party, so they can be judged on their own strengths
- Several representatives exist for people
Single Transferable Vote: Disadvantages
- Degree of proportionality can vary
- Single-party, strong government is very unlikely
- Could be divisive by creating competition between candidates from the same party
What is Additional Member System(AMS) ?
- This system is used for the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments
- Electors have two votes: one for a representative (for a constituency), one for a party (for a region)
- The winner for each constituency is the candidate with the most number of votes
- For the regional votes, divide the number of votes they got by the (number of constituencies won+1)
- Party with the highest number wins the seat
- For the rest of the seats, repeat this action but add any additional seats won
Additional Member System: Advantages
- Balances constituency representation against electoral fairness (proportionality)
- Possibility of single-party, strong government remains
- Allows for more voter choice- they could vote for two different parties
Additional Member System: Disadvantages
- High levels of proportionality are unlikely
- Creates confusion by having two classes of representative
- Constituencies are larger, so representation may be less effective
4 significant factors that effect voting behaviour
- social class
- geography/region
- age
- ethnicity
How does social class affect voting behaviour?
- traditionally working class have been more inclined to vote labour, while the Liberal Democrat’s attract the middle class and the conservatives the upper classes
- However, Recently there has been a move away from this recently with class dealignment.
- This is because of the changes in employment patterns, educational opportunities and the rising standard of living.
- Education remains a strong indicator of how someone voted, with Labour doing a lot better than the Conservatives amongst those who have a university degree (42% to 18%)
How does Geography influence voting behaviour ?
- North /south divide
- In 2001, the southern part of England voted 56.3% for the Conservative Party whilst the north of England, Scotland and Wales voted 82.4% in favour of the Labour Party.
- This pattern may be linked to the industrial past of the UK when heavy industry and links to trade unions were concentrated in Central Scotland, the North of England and Wales.
How does Age influence voting behaviour ?
- Those under 35 tend to vote Labour and the Conservative vote increases with age.
- in this election, around the same proportion of all age groups below 50 voted for Labour (41% to 46%).
How does ethnicity influence voting behaviour ?
- The Labour party has tended to benefit from the ethnic minority vote, especially the Afro-Caribbean vote.
- This may be because, in the past, Labour policies have seemed more sympathetic towards ethnic minorities.
How does the media influence the outcome of elections ?
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- The media is the means whereby voters form opinions on the ability of political leaders and whether the Government is doing a good job or not
- Outside election times, most readers will not realise that the Daily Record favours the Labour Party and that the Daily Mail favours the Conservative Party.
- 2010 UK General Election, the Sun newspaper ran the headline ‘Labour’s Lost it’, letting readers know it has switched its support from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party. The Sun has the largest circulation figures in the UK and famously supported the Labour Party in 1997.
- Internet now plays an important role in influencing voters. Like newspapers, websites are allowed to show bias. Politicians and political parties are keen to use websites, blogs, wikis, podcasts or having listings on social networking websites like facebook and twitter as a way of reaching voters, especially young voters. Young voters are less likely to vote.
Partisan dealignment.
progressive decline in the number of voters who feel a strong attachment to on of the major parties.
The Electoral Commission
An independent body set up by the UK Parliament, responsible for regulating election finance, setting standards for election administration, monitoring and enforcing election laws.
Influence of a Party’s policies
- Voters consider the policies presented in the party manifestos and make a decision based on which set of policies suits them best.
- This is rational choice theory in action. Voting Behaviour
- eg stance on immigration or Net0 goals
Influence of key issues on elections
- Party campaigns increasingly focus on a clear message about one issue they think will win them the election because voters increasingly cast their vote based on the issue that is most important to them.
Influence of incumbency
voters tend to simplify the election into a referendum on the current government. If the economy does well, the government is rewarded with another term; if the economy does badly, the government is removed and the opposition is given a chance to govern
Influence of leadership on an election
- The role of the leader has become increasingly important since Harold Wilson’s time in office, and voters often take the view that they are selecting a prime minister rather than voting for a party or an MP.
- As a result, leaders must convince voters that they can be trusted to deliver and are capable of running the country, and they must deliver all this through a likable and engaging media presence.
- eg Maybot in 2017
Party policies and manifestos in 1979
- Both gave high priority to bringing inflation down.
- Thatcher’s policy statement contained very little indication that she intended to move her party to the right. There was a mention of returning recently nationalised industries to private hands and removing some trade union powers, but no suggestion of a radical crusade to scale down the state sector.
Campaigns of 1979
THATCHER - She was less experienced than Callaghan so was advised to avoid debates. The campaign therefore cultivated an image of a careful housewife and mother. Economics was explained in terms of simple domestic common sense- not spending what you don’t have and avoiding debt.
-utilised photo opportunities
-‘Labour Isn’t Working’
CALLAGHAN - The one ‘gaffe’ of the campaign came from Sir Harold Wilson - the former Labour Prime Minister - who conceded in an interview with the Daily Mail that his wife might vote for the Conservatives, because their leader was a woman.
Party policies and manifestos of 1997
- The ‘New Labour’ project abandoned old-fashioned party policies such as nationalisation, tax increases and the strengthening of trade union powers, which might put off non-committed middle-class voters
- Another way in which Labour’s policies helped it win was Blair’s emphasis on constitutional reform, which gave the party common ground with the Liberal Democrats.
Campaigns of 1997.
- New Labour placed a huge emphasis on developing a professional vote-winning machine.
- Crucially, Labour won the endorsement of the greater part of the press, including The Sun and The Times. The message was that New Labour was a moderate party with the interests of ‘Middle England’ at heart.
- The image of Tory incompetence was confirmed by a series of financial and sexual scandals (which the media called ‘sleaze’) and continuing divisions over Britain’s relationship with the European Union. The impression of weak leadership was fatal for the Conservatives.
Policies and manifestos of 2019 election
