Voting Systems in the UK - Parliament website

Question 1

Voting systems in the UK

Answer 1

Voting systems are the method by which we elect representatives. A voting system determines the rules on how we elect parties and candidates.

> The House of Commons
Scottish Parliament
Welsh Parliament
Northern Ireland Assembly
UK local authorities
USE DIFFERENT VOTING SYSTEMS

Question 2

First-Past-The-Post (FPTP)

Answer 2

In the FPTP system, voters select their preferred candidate. The candidate with the most votes wins.

First-Past-The-Post is used by:
> House of Commons
> Mayoral elections in England
> Police and Crime Commissioner elections
> Local council elections in England and Wales

Question 3

Alternative Vote (AV)

Answer 3

Voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or vote for one candidate.

First preference votes are counted first. If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes then they are elected.

If no candidate reaches 50 per cent, the candidate with the fewest first preference votes is eliminated. Their second preference votes are reallocated to the remaining candidates. If one candidate has more votes than the other remaining candidates put together, that candidate is elected.

If not, the process is repeated until one candidate has more votes than the other remaining candidates put together. This candidate wins the election.

Alternative Vote is used by:
> Chairs of most Committees in the House of Commons
> The Lord Speaker and by-elections for hereditary peers

Question 4

Supplementary Vote (SV)

Answer 4

The SV system is like the AV system. Voters are limited to a first and second preference choice. A voter marks a cross in one column for their first preference candidate. They mark another cross in a second column for their second preference if they wish to do so.

If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes then they are elected.

If no candidate reaches the 50 per cent threshold, the two candidates with the highest number of votes remain. This eliminates the other candidates. The second preferences of voters who voted for eliminated candidates are then counted. Any made for the two remaining candidates are transferred. The candidate with the most votes at the end of this process is elected.

Up until May 2023, elections for mayors in England and for Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales, used SV.

Question 5

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

Answer 5

Constituencies which elect more than one representative use STV.

Voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on. A voter can rank as many or as few candidates as they like or vote for only one candidate.

Each candidate needs to reach a quota. This is the minimum number of votes calculated according to the number of seats and votes cast.

The first preference votes for each candidate are added up. Candidates who achieve this quota are elected.

Surplus votes from candidates who hit the quota go to second preference candidates.

The candidate with the fewest first preference votes who do not achieve the quota are eliminated. Voters who voted for an eliminated candidate then have their votes transferred to their second preference. The process of transferring surpluses and second (or third, fourth, and so on) preferences continues until all vacant seats have been filled.

Single Transferable Vote is used for:
> Elections for Deputy Speakers in the HoC
> Northern Ireland Assembly elections
> Local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland

STV was also used in Northern Ireland to elect Members of the European Parliament from 1979 to 2019.

Question 6

Additional Member System (AMS)

Answer 6

Voters are given two votes on separate ballot papers. One vote is for a constituency member and one vote is for a party list. In Scotland and Wales list members are elected by region. In London there is a single London-wide list.

Constituency votes are counted first and the members for each constituency are elected using first-past-the-post.

Additional members are then elected by counting the party list votes in each region. The number of members elected from the list is based on the percentage of the votes cast but also takes into account the number of constituency members already elected in the region. This is designed to make the result more proportional to the number of votes cast.

Additional Member System is used by:
> Scottish Parliament
> Welsh Parliament
> London Assembly

Question 7

Closed Party List

Answer 7

The Closed Party List system was used in England, Scotland and Wales to elect Members of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2019.

Under this system, a voter marks a cross on the ballot paper next to the party’s name. Parties get the number of seats in proportion to the votes it receives in each constituency.

Voters choose parties not candidates. The parties determine the order in which candidates appear on the list.