Elections and Electoral Systems

Question 1

what key instrument is used in the UK’s democracy

Answer 1

Elections are the key instrument to give people influence

Question 2

what voting system is used in the UK

Answer 2

First Past The Post - most votes win

Question 3

what does FPTP mean for election outcome

Answer 3

It means that a candidate does not need more than 50% of the votes just more than the other candidates. Parties need to actually gain a constituency to get seats in parliament, coming 2nd or 3rd all the time gets them nothing

Question 4

examples of the winner takes all electoral system at work

Answer 4

1. Fife North East, 2017 - SNP won with a 0.0% majority - the difference between the SNP winner and the 2nd party was just 2 votes
2. In many constituencies like Liverpool Walton and Leeds Central, 1 party has so much support that it will win whatever happens because it is a safe seat - Hilary Benn has been MP for Leeds Central since 1999. Liverpool Walton - 2019 - 84.7% for Lab MP Dan Carden

Question 5

types of seats FPTP creates

Answer 5

Safe seats
Marginal seats

Question 6

what does safe seats mean for voters

Answer 6

The candidate doesn’t need a big margin to win the seat - people do not bother turning up which leads to wasted votes. Voters may not turn up to vote because everyone already knows the result which leads to lower turnout. In 2019, 3/4 of the 650 constituencies were considered safe seats with a winning margin of more than 10% in the previous election. So for 3/4th of the country, there was not much point in voting.

Question 7

marginal seats

Answer 7

Not all seats are a close contest, those are called marginal seats. (Fife North East 2017). Sheffield Hallam 2019 - 34.7% for Labour, 33.4% for Lib Dems, 25.8% for tory

Question 8

2019 election results

Answer 8

Tory - 43.6% - a majority of seats - 365.
SNP - 3.9% - 48 seats
Lib Dems - 11.6% - 14 seats!
Labour - 32.1% - 202 seats
Greens - 3% - 1 seat

Question 9

what system is FPTP

Answer 9

Plurality system meaning the winner only needs to win the most votes, not necessarily a majority leading to disproportional outcomes,

Question 10

what type of constituency is used in FPTP

Answer 10

Single member constituences

Question 11

proportional representation

Answer 11

Large multi-member constituencies, where the amount of seats a party gets is proportional to the votes they get in that constituency. It translates the number of votes a party gets nationally accurately into seats in parliaments, it is fair and proportional

Question 12

advantages of FPTP

Answer 12

1. It is relatively simple to understand.
2. FPTP tends to produce strong strong and stable governments.
3. Strong link between MPs and constituents.
4. Exclusion of extremists

Question 13

advantages of FPTP - simplicity

Answer 13

It is relatively simple to understand. Other systems require voters to consider a list of candidates per party, rank candidates or vote more than once, with FPTP voters cast a single vote for their most preferred candidates. Counting is also relatively straightforward and the result is easy to calculate, it also produces a clear outcome at a national and constituency level, which makes understanding voting and how the election works straightforward

Question 14

advantages of FPTP - strong govt

Answer 14

FPTP tends to produce strong and stable governments. It benefits larger parties and therefore often gives election results with one party with a clear majority in parliament. That party can form a stable and strong government - . There are rarely coalitions, which can be seen as less stable. - Cons- 2019, meaning they can pass laws for the good of the country without disruptions. However, coalitions are not unstable - 2010-15 coalition - NI has had 7 coalitions, though with various suspensions, coalitions also have advantages, parties working together, not always a clear majority with FPTP - 2010,2017. - Govt can be too strong and powerful - elective dictatorship

Question 15

advantages of FPTP - representation

Answer 15

Strong link between MPs and constituents. With single-member constituencies, every citizen has one MP that represents them and they can contact with problems or for advice - helps participation. E.G MPs living near the trajectory of the HS2 rail line have been approached by constituents to oppose the project - However, representation is uequal - some MPs do not represent constituents as well - 120 MPs voting differently on Brexit than their constituents

Question 16

advantages of FPTP - extremists

Answer 16

Exclusion of extremists - FPTP tends to favour two large mainstream parties and smaller parties do well less, That means smaller more ideologically extreme parties or racist and xenophobic parties have less chance. The BNP got half a million votes in 2010, but not a single MP. However, it can be seen as undemocratic to not have views of all groups in society represented.

Question 17

disadvantages of FPTP

Answer 17

1. Disadvantages smaller parties
2. Produces safe seats
3. Undemocratic results

Question 18

Disadvantages of FPTP - smaller parties

Answer 18

FPTP disadvantages smaller parties, because it inflates the votes of larger parties and doesnt translate votes gotten to seats in the house of commons, This is unfair and undemocratic and leaves their voters underrepresented. UKIP 2015 - 13% of votes 1 seat. It creates a two-party system which favours big parties. However, it excludes extremists

Question 19

disadvantages of FPTP - safe seats

Answer 19

FPTP tends to produce many safe seats which leads to low turnout. This makes our participation crisis even more, Leeds Central. However, there are many other reasons for a participation crisis, such as unrepresented parties and negative attitudes to politics - BJ party gate

Question 20

disadvantages of FPTP - results

Answer 20

It produces undemocratic results. There is no direct proportional link between the number of votes a party receives nationally and the number of seats it gets - Lib Dems - 2019, it is also possible that one party receives more votes nationally but another receives more seats = which happened in 1951 - Atlee received 48.8% of the votes, which was 0.8% more than Churchill but Churchill won the most seats - 321, 26 more than Atlee. However, this is rare and most elections produce a fair winner - this should not be possible in a democracy - happened again in 1974, unlike PR it does not translate votes into seats proportionally - which is unrepresentative.

Question 21

types of electoral system

Answer 21

FPTP
Alternative Vote
PR
Single Transferable vote
Additional Member System

Question 22

alternative vote

Answer 22

It has single-member constituencies, just like FPTP. Instead of 1 cross for their preferred candidate, voters rank candidates. When votes are counted, the candidates finishing last are eliminated and their 2nd preferences are redistributed until one candidate has more than 50%, slightly more proportional than FPTP - failed not passed still a plurality system

Question 23

Single Transferable Vote

Answer 23

Used for Northern Ireland Assemblies. It uses multi-member constituencies (17 constituencies of 6 members for the NI assembly). It is therefore a type of proportional representation. Like the AV, voters rank candidates according to their preferences, it also takes 2nd and other preferences into account, it is fairer to smaller parties and therefore represents all views in society better

Question 24

Additional Member system

Answer 24

It is used in the scottish and Welsh parliament and the London Assembly. It is a hybrid or mixed system - a combination of FPTP and PR. Some members are elected through FPTP and others through PR. Voters have two votes - A FPTP vote for a constituency representative in SMC and a PR vote for several regional representatives in a larger multi-member regional constituency - which helps participation, unlike FPTP.

Question 25

pros and cons of AMS

Answer 25

Pros -
Balance of best from FPTP and PR - strong constituency rep plus proportionality
Voter choice - more representatives can win seats and voters can split their votes - helps minor parties
Cons -
Two categories of representatives, only one has strong links with their constituency

Question 26

impact of FPTP on voting

Answer 26

1. It has favoured larger parties - it tends to produce a two-party system. AMS and STV are fairer to a wide range of parties and tend to produce a multi-party system. 2022 - NI assembly election - Sinn Fein won 27 seats, DUP - 25, Alliance - 17. S.F. votes - 29.0%, DUP - 21.3% Alliance - 13.5%
2. FPTP has produced low turnout and a participation crisis because of safe seats, no safe seats with STV and fewer with AMS so more reason to participate - NI 2022 - 62.8%, However, even with FPTP in the 1950s the UK had 84% turnout, and in 2019 it had more than NI - 67% - there are other reasons for low turnout as well
3. FPTP has encouraged tactical voting. Tactical voting - vote for whatever had a realistic chance of winning a constituency rather than who they prefer, with FPTP many constituencies someone’s real preferences will not have a realistic chance of winning. With AMS and STV, there are fewer wasted votes and less tactical voting. In 2015, conservative voters voted tactically for Lib Dems in Sheffield Hallam to keep Nick Clegg in his seat as the Lib Dem most likely to form a coalition with them

Question 27

impact of FPTP on government

Answer 27

FPTP reduces the chance of coalition governments, AMS increases it and STV increases it further. The UK has had 17 governments since 1945 and only 1 coalition. Scotland 6 govts since 1999 - 2 coalitions, Wales 6 govts since 1999 - 3 coalitions, NI - 7 govts since 1996 all were coalitions, This is because FPTP disadvantages smaller parties. It tends to produce two major parties. It is more likely that one party has an overall majority and can form a government with a majority on its own. Coalitions tend to produce a politics of compromise - Politicians expect to negotiate, cooperate and make compromises with other parties, power sharing in NI btw Sinn Fein and DUP was established as part of the good friday agreement - if they can’t agree there will be no assembly, this was the case in May 2022 when the DUP refused to form a government expect the sea border created by the Brexit deal was removed. In contrast with the UK parliament which operates on adversarial politics.