Alternative Voting Systems and Multi Party Politics Flashcards
1
Q
alternate voting systems
A
- single transferrable vote
- supplementary vote (AV)
- closed list system/open list systems
- additional member vote
1
Q
supplementary vote
A
- recommended by the plant report 1993, and used in the mayoral elections + french
- voters express a choice for two different candidates
- candidates need to win an overall majority
- if there is not majority then all but 2 are eliminated and the second choice is counted
- can take away wasted votes mostly, takes away minority mps, can solve a disproportionate outcome and can stop tactical voting
2
Q
closed list system
A
- used in the european parl elections since 1999
- there is no single candidate for the party
- proportion of the vote = number of mps
- each voter votes for a number of candidates in the same party
- the candidates are visited in order by the party
- solves disproportionate outcome, wasted votes (minority mps), winners bonus, tactical voting; gives multiple party options to voters for contact
- no constituency link as they often contain millions of voters, gives parties alot of power (can control who the mps are in a certain area)
3
Q
open list system
A
- similar to closed list
- there is a degree of choice –> you get to choose the party and rank the candidates
- very proportionate, no safe seats, should get rid of minority governments (eg LD would perhaps form a coalition with the largest party to form a maj)
BUT causes hung parliaments and coalitions
- can bring about unstable governments
- however, works in germany, and the 2010 coalition
4
Q
overall judgement on list systems
A
- very proportional and thus fair —> especially if the constituencies are large (israel uses the whole country)
- in the european elections britain is divided into constituencies
- scotland is a giant area with 7 candidates
5
Q
single transferable vote
A
- used in local, devolved and european elections in NI
- preferred option of the electoral reform society and the lib dems
- voters rank all the candidates in order of pref
- look who is over the quota and use those extra votes to redistribute based on second choice –> gets rid of wasted seats
- bottom candidate votes are reallocated too
- candidates over the quota are selected again + the process is repeated
- fairest, no safe seats, eliminated winners bonus avoid min gov/coalition, proportionate
- however, breaks constituency links
6
Q
Britain has a multiparty system
A
- the rise of the liberal democrats –> 1983: LD 25.4% national vote and Lab 26.8%, but 23 seats vs 209
- apart from 2015 LD loosened grip of top 2 parties at elections, with 10% of seats in 2005 and 23% of national vote in 2010
- nationalist parties at WM: 2010, 34.9% of voters supported parties other than C and L, 2015 nationalist parties shared 80 seats and SNP had 56, 2015 11 different political parties had seats in WM
- multiparty politics in the regions: S, AMS has SNP, Lab, LD form coalitions, minority and maj govs, AMS W, LD fourth highest supported party and polled 10% of the vote, NI STV, few wasted votes –> 2011 7 parties shared 108 seats
- alternative electoral systems: more proportional electoral systems –> more parties win seats and voters are far less constrained by a lack of realistic choice (UKIP 27% vote and 24.73 seats in european parl elections in 2011, but in 2015 12.7% of GE vote = 1 seat, 3.8 mil votes)
7
Q
the uk does not have a multi parliamentary system
A
- FPTP: rejection of AV in 2011, 67.9% against, 42.2%), so large pol parties have the power (C+L have a disproportionate amount of votes compared to other parties) (SNP vs UKIP)
- limited impact of the SNPs rise: 56 seats gained has little impact, as their seats are a L vs SNP battleground rather than multip; still have little rep in HoL , and clear C maj 2015 show SNP has little power 1
- decline of LD: LD policies in coalition (AV+ ref and lords reform) did not catch public attentions like C policies (Unis fee rise); fragile support unlike big 2
- UKIP: narrow range of policies means it is not likely to overtake the two main pol parties (not mainstream)
- parliamentary culture: Houses are designed for 2 party, confrontational pol debate (one opposition, one seat opposition PM); second party gets 17 out of 20 opposition days and 3 divided to the others –> daily functioning of parl does not allow for a MultiP system and sig const change is needed for it to do so
8
Q
electoral systems used in different parts of the uk
A
england
- general/local - FPTP
- european- closed list
- london mayor - SV
- london assembly - AMS
Scotland
- general - FPTP
- european - closed list
- devolved AMS
- local - STV
Wales
- general/local - FPTP
- european - closed list
- devolved AMS
Northern Ireland
- general FPTP
- european/devolved/local - STV
9
Q
additional member system
A
- Aimed at combining elements of proportionality with constituency
representation. - You get two votes. 1 is for a candidate as in FPTP and the other is for a party as in PR.
- parties whose candidates do well in constituencies are unlikely to win many seats from regional lists –> compensatory PR system
- Used in Scottish and Welsh devolved elections and London Assembly.
- critics argue that reps elected in single member const are more accountable to voters than those from party lists (second are second class reps)
- provides an incentive to focus on the party rather than constituents
10
Q
multiparty system
A
- A two party system is defined as one were two major parties win 80% of the popular vote and/or 90% of the seats in the legislature
- Popular vote
- Representation in Parliament
- Second order elections
11
Q
second order elections
A
- Since 2011 SNP have formed a govt in Scotland
- Since 1998 power sharing between Sinn Fein and UUP or DUP
- Since 2016 Plaid Cymru has been second party in Wales
- Lib Dems often do well in local elections
- Ukip and Brexit Parties were biggest parties in European Parliament Elections 2014 and 2019
