Voting Systems Flashcards
What is the purpose of an election?
To
• select representatives to best reflect the interests of the constituency and the individual
• deliver verdict on performance of past government
• decide which government programme the electorate support based on their manifestos
• decide which leader will become PM
• grant authority to whichever party wins election, giving them the political mandate to govern
What is a manifesto?
A statement of commitments made by a party that they would uphold/enact should they be elected to government
Define the phrases ‘electoral mandate’
When authority is granted to a party to
• put into place policies from their manifesto (doctrine of mandate and manifesto)
• carry out actions that promote security and welfare in response to unexpected events (doctors mandate)
2017 General election Party - Conservatives Give the • change in the number of MPs • change in % of vote • Potential reasons for these changes
Tory 2017 General election results
• 317 seats (48.8% of HoC), -13
• Votes +5.5% to 42.3%
• Reasons for
- Vote gain: Theresa may seen as more responsible to be in charger (doctors madate)
- Seat lost: Rise in labour votes, marginal seats lost
2017 General election Party - Labour Give the • change in the number of MPs • change in % of vote • Potential reasons for these changes
Labour 2017 General election results
• 262 seats (40.3% of HoC), +30 seats
• Votes +9.4% to 42.3%
• Reasons for better result than 2015: increased youth vote, comment on past 7 years of government, distrust of Theresa May, ideology shift, UKIP no longer relevant, SNP call for another Scottish Referendum
2017 General election Party - Scottish National Party Give the • change in the number of MPs • change in % of vote • Potential reasons for these changes
SNP 2017 General election results
• 35 seats (5.4% of HoC), -21 seats
• Votes -1.7% to 3%
• Reasons for worse result than 2015: talk of 2nd Scottish referendum, started with high % of Scotland (95%), leave voters voted Tory, Labour shifted more left again
2017 General election Party - Liberal Democrats Give the • change in the number of MPs • change in % of vote • Potential reasons for these changes
Lib Dem 2017 General election results
• 12 seats (1.8% of HoC), +4 seats
• Votes -0.5% to 7.4%
• Reasons for result: verdict on coalition, Tim Farron on gay rights, tactical votes in marginal seats to get Labour in power
2017 General election Party - UK Independence Party Give the • change in the number of MPs • change in % of vote • Potential reasons for these changes
UKIP 2017 General election results
• 0 seats (0% of HoC), -1 seat
• Votes -10.8% to 1.8%
• Reasons for result: no longer relevant after the EU referendum due to it being their only clear policy
2017 General election Party - Green Party of England and Wales Give the • change in the number of MPs • change in % of vote • Potential reasons for these changes
Green 2017 General election results
• 1 seat (0% of HoC), no seat change
• Votes -2% to 1.6%
• Reasons for result: still seen as single issue, not large enough infrastructure for national competition, strategic voting to get Labour into power
What are the three types of voting system?
- Plurality
- Majority
- Proportional representation
What does a plurality voting system work around?
One candidate having more votes than any other but not necessarily 50%
What are the basic rules of First Past the Post (FPTP)?
- Each constituency returns 1 MP
- Each party nominates one candidate to stand in each constituency
- Voters only have one vote
Give advantages of the FPTP system
- Speedy and simple - single cross ballot, quick transfer of power compared to nations such as Germany and Belgium (18 months in 2010) that use P.R
- Strong and stable government - promotes a clear majority in power e.g. Thatcher allowed to reduce Trade Unions and Blair to make constitutional reform in 1997 due to large mandates
- Excludes extremist parties - e.g. UKIP, right wing, got 3.9 million votes in 2015 but only 1 seat
- Strong link between MPs and constituency - small sized constituencies creates stronger link e.g. surgeries (Catherine West’s on Friday) and easier to lobby (writing letters)
Give disadvantages of the FPTP system
- MPs and government can be elected on less than 50% of the vote - e.g. current government got 42% of the vote yet has control of nation that 58% of people did not vote for —> governments that don’t have popularity vote and thus weakens their political mandate
- Lack of proportionality - despite keeping out extreme parties such as UKIP it ignores the vote of 12.9% of electorate
- Limited voter choice - no variation of spectrum within parties e.g. New Labour v Corbyn Labour, ONCs v Thathcherites
- Votes are of unequal value - small constituencies have votes worth more e.g. 9407 voters in Burkley and 28,591 for Isles of Whight, Electoral Reform Society calculated 74.4% of votes in 2015 were wasted
How does a majority voting system work?
They are designed to ensure the winner receives the majority of the votes
