Voting AV

Question 1

Alternative Vote:Instant-runoff voting system

Answer 1

Citizens can vote smaller parties without being scared that a candidate the hate the most gets into power
allows for single member constiuencies/one party rule

Question 2

Pros

Answer 2

No spoiler effect
2 horses less complacent/decreases the chances of safe seats
MPs will have to secure 50% of votes to win a constituency seat - making them more accountable and working harder to win over a broader appeal.
Limits the chances for extremists to gain power scraping in with minority support. AV+ shuts down the ability for candidates to slip in with just a minority of the votes.

Question 3

Cons

Answer 3

Susceptible to gerry mandering
Aren’t proportional
Trend towards both parties
Can’t garuntee a condorcet winner
Over time both trend towards 2 parties
It is more complex than FPTP for voters
It is likely to lead to coalition government
It weakens the psychological link between voters and their representatives

Question 4

From AV and STV (Single Transferable Vote) supporters:

Answer 4

It is not proportional enough
It is too likely to lead to one-party government
It will lead to “two types of MP”
The constituencies will still not be able to respect “natural boundaries” (although the top-up regions will)
A national referendum on the Alternative Vote system was granted as part of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition agreement,[10] but not AV+. The Jenkins Commission rejected plain AV on the basis that it did little to relieve disproportionality,[11] but favoured it over first-past-the-post as the basis for AV+.[12]
The referendum on AV was held on May 5, 2011 and rejected the proposed AV voting system in favour of retaining First Past the Post.