Voting Systems (UK) Essay

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

Some would argue that the additional member electoral system is the most effective because it allows for voters to select a candidate and a political party they wish to see in power. However others would compare that to the first past the post system or single transferable vote system arguing they are in fact better systems because FPTP allows for the party to receive representation in parliament based on the number of votes they receive and STV gives voters to opportunity to rank the candidates from the best candidate in their opinion to the worst. Ultimately, this response will set out why the additional member system is more effective overall at providing effective choice and fair representation in elections.

Question 2

AMS vs stv
Describe

Answer 2

The additional member system provides effective choice as citizens get two votes. The first is to elect their constituency MSP using the first past the post system, they can then cast a second vote for their preferred party. Voters can split their vote and vote for a constituency MSP who represents a different party to the regional vote. This means that they can choose their preferred candidate who they believe will represent their constituency best in parliament, and still support their preferred party in the regional vote.

Question 3

AMS vs stv
Analysis

Answer 3

This gives voters different options of how they can vote and who they can vote for which therefore allows them to have more say in who is elected into government.

Question 3

AMS vs stv
Evidence

Answer 3

Under AMS smaller parties such as the Green party are more likely to win regional MSPS as their votes are grouped together in larger regions, increasing the representation of different viewpoints in parliament.

Question 4

ams vs STV
Describe

Answer 4

Voters elect councillors by ranking candidates in order of their preference, 1 being awarded to their first choice. This allows for voters to vote for multiple candidates and gives opportunities to more candidates. STV allows for small parties to gain a percentage of votes that matches the percentage of seats they have gained as it is proportional representation system.

Question 5

ams vs STV
Evidence

Answer 5

In 2017, the Scottish Green party won 19 seats, five more than in 2012 due to the STV system, allowing smaller parties to gain a larger percentage of support.

Question 6

ams vs STV
Analysis

Answer 6

This means that STV provides effective choice as it gives a wider opportunity for voters to elect multiple candidates and especially those who would otherwise receive minimal votes in alternate systems.

Question 7

AMS vs STV
Link back

Answer 7

Therefore, while AMS gives voters two choices of votes, the constituency MSP and the political party, the STV rank system allows citizens to vote for multiple candidates, which provides more effective choice.

Question 8

FPTP vs fptp
Describe

Answer 8

The FPTP voting system is a very simple and effective system to use when voting, allowing for fair representation. The voter simply has to mark an X next to the candidate of their choice on the ballot paper and the candidate who receives the most votes in that constituency wins the seat in parliament. The result of this is that it is a simple and easy way to understand system that will often encourage voter turnout.

Question 9

FPTP vs fptp
Evidence

Answer 9

For example, in the 2019 election the Conservatives gained 360 seats with 42% of the vote and Labour got 302 seats with 32% of the vote.

Question 10

FPTP vs fptp
Analysis

Answer 10

This shows that based on the percentage of votes that a candidate receives is then used to allocate their political party a number of seats in parliament, allowing for the parties who receive more of the votes, to have more say and seats within the perliament, allowing for a fair representation of parties as any votes that a candidate receives equivalate to a number of seats.

Question 11

fptp vs FPTP
Describe

Answer 11

However, FPTP isn’t fair for all political parties. FPTP is unfair to smaller parties as for smaller parties that only get a low percentage of votes, they will gain no representation because they did not win in any constituency, therefore causing an unfair representation within parliament and the voting system.

Question 12

fptp vs FPTP
Evidence

Answer 12

For example, in 2019, the Green party had only one MP in the House of Commons despite gaining 865,707 votes.

Question 13

fptp vs FPTP
Analysis

Answer 13

This shows that smaller parties aren’t able to provide their views or opinions to parliament as they cannot attain enough of the votes to compare to other well-known and well-established parties in parliament, to be able to gain representation in parliament.

Question 14

FPTP vs FPTP
Link back

Answer 14

Therefore, it can be said that the FPTP system can give parties fair representation, however this is only to an extent. This is because the system is favoured towards larger parties and doesn’t allow for smaller parties to gain any representation in larger elections or any presence in parliament, meaning that the voting system doesn’t accomondate to all political parties.

Question 15

FPTP vs ams
Describe

Answer 15

FPTP allows for voters to have a effective choice during the elction. FPTP retains a strong MP-constituency link as the electorate votes directly for an MP and once the MP is elected, the constituents are fully aware of who they are and can hold them accountable for their actons, allowing for the voters to make an effective choice as they know who is being put up for the election.

Question 16

FPTP vs ams
Evidence

Answer 16

For example, the MP for Stirling is Alyn Smith from SNP, who was elected with around 26,000 votes which accounted for 51% of the votes.

Question 17

FPTP vs ams
Analysis

Answer 17

This shows that voters are fully aware of who they can vote for, and in turn who they can hold accountable for any action or decisions being made, allowing for voters to vote for who, exactly they want in power, instead of only the party to who would then pick the politicians they want to put foward for parliament.

Question 18

fptp vs AMS
Describe

Answer 18

However, AMS provides more effective choice for voters within elections as they allow for the voters to vote for the political party as well as the candidates, allowing for fair representation to take place as well. AMS allows for greater voter choice as there are two votes. In the first vote, one MSP is elected per constituency. In the second vote, cast using PR, seven MSPs are elected to each region.

Question 19

fptp vs AMS
Evidence

Answer 19

For example, in the Scottish election, using an AMS system, the Green party had won 7 seats in parliament - all through regional vote. In comparison, in the 2019 election, which uses the FPTP system, the Greens only gained 1 seat in parliament.

Question 20

FPTP vs AMS
Link back

Answer 20

Therefore, although FPTP can provide effective choice for voters, the Additonal Member System is more effective for voters having an effective choice. This is because AMS gives the voters the decision as to the candidates they want in power and the political party. It gives them the freedom to vote for a candidate who is in a different party than the party they would typically vote for, allowing for more variety in the results of the election.

Question 20

fptp vs AMS
Analysis

Answer 20

This shos that the AMS system allows for more opportunties for smaller parties to receive recognition and representation within parliament, as AMS allows for the voters to choose candidates they think are best suited for the position and then the political party who they viewed to do the same.

Question 21

Conclusion

Answer 21

The electoral systems discussed - FPTP, AMS and STV can also provide effective choice and fair representation to some extent. The voting system with the least choice and representation of what the public want is FPTP because FPTP does not produce a proportional result as the percentage of votes received using FPTP does not compare with the percentage of seats gained.However, although STV has some key barriers to providing fair representation, it can still be said it provides significantly more choice and representation because candidates must reach a certain ‘quota’ of votes to be elected, with all votes being counted and affecting the result, meaning that the percentage of votes is closer to the percentage of seats. Therefore, holistically the voting system that does provide the most effective choice for constituents and fairly represents their views is AMS because it usually creates coalition governments. This is seen as an advantage because one party cannot force opinions upon people and they must work together and can create consensus and agreement on policies, allowing for fair representation in parliament.