Elections and referendums Flashcards
(37 cards)
apathy
lack of interest
by election
election that takes place when a constituency loses MP (death or resignation)
winners bonus + eg
winning party enjoys a share of the seats well in excess of the share of votes it received
- as a result of FPTP
• labour 2024 GE: 63% seats and 33% votes
- inflated seats in comparison to votes
wasted vote
a vote that doesn’t count towards electing a winner
tactical vote
voting for a political party you wouldn’t usually vote for in order to prevent another party from winning
functions of uk elections
- representation: electorates (big group) select representatives (smaller group) to act on their behalf
- choosing gov/ local gov
- legitimacy: citizens give consent to the system by voting
- participation
- citizen education
- accountability: those in power can get removed in next election if electorates are unhappy
- influence over policy: parties issue a manifesto - victorious party claims a mandate to deliver policies
- elite recruitment: parties nominate candidates and help them to win, in return, they expect loyalty
majority + minority gov
majority: a government where the governing party holds an absolute majority of seats (326/650 in parliament)
minority: when the governing party fails to hold a majority of seats
manifesto + mandate
manifesto: set of policies that a political party promises to implement once elected to office
mandate: right to do something
floating voter + swing voter
F: voters that aren’t typically loyal to one party and are open to persuasion and political advertising - primarily focused on election campaigns
V: someone who knows who to vote for on the day
safe seat + eg
a parliamentary seat that is likely to be retained with a large majority - same party every time
e.g 2024 GE, Bootle (NW) - 58% Labour votes
• been a Labour seat since 1945
marginal seat + eg
a constituency held by a small majority
- winning party fluctuates
e.g Poole (SW) = 2024 GE - Lab gain from Con (0.04% -18 votes- majority)
constituency
a geographical area where voters elected a representative to parliament
(1MP with 70,000 living there: boundaries amended every 10 years after census)
electoral systems (+ plurality vote)
- proportional = calculates number of elected representatives by the actual number of cotes the party recieves
- majoritarian = the candidate with the highest number of votes in each constituency elected
- when a candidate polls more votes than any other candidate but doesn’t receive more than half the votes cast
factors of a minority rule
- total of votes for elected candidate is a lot lower than the sum of the votes of other candidates combined
- increased tactical voting: less meaningful votes
- 3rd parties ruin success of parties with similar political views: reform 4 mil votes, 6mil votes
- 2 party dominance: trend of FPTP over time
- Gerrymandering: manipulating boundaries of a constituency to favour a party
class dealignment
voters have moved away from demographically voting
- recency factors joe affecting voter choice (e.g leaders + economy)
- primacy factors declining (e.g class + geographical area)
explaining voter choice - primacy and recency
primacy:
- valence issue: everyone agrees on (NHS)
- voters characteristics (class, ethnicity)
- beliefs and values
recency:
- personality of candidates/ party leader
- current affairs (immigration, crime rates, benefits)
- campaigns and manifesto pledges
- tactically
- government effectiveness
theories effecting voter choice
- rational choice theory = self interest
• TB 1997: 250k young ppl unemployed off benefits and into work - issue voting = who will deal with the issue the best
• BJ 2019: Brexit - economic/valence issue voting
• KS 2024: cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more appointments every week
2024 GE results
Labour: 9mil votes//411 seats (63%//33%)
Con: 6mil// 121
Reform: 4mil// 5
partisan dealignment
process whereby individuals become less partisan (strong supporter) and predictable in supporting a particular political party
characteristics of FPTP
- 2 party system
- winners bonus
- bias to major party
- discrimination to 3rd and small parties
- single party gov: party wins continuously - last 100yrs Labour + Con win
advantages of FPTP
advantages:
- strong and accountable government: single party gov are able to fulfil mandate by enacting policy commitments made in manifestos and act decisively in times of crisis
- keeps our extremist parties: parties on far left or right haven’t prospered in UK , FPTP makes it difficult to win seats
- clear outcome: produces clear winner, party securing largest no of votes achieves majority normally (eg BJ 2019 - 365)
- effective representation: single member constituencies provide clear link between constituents and their elected representatives
- simplicity: quick results and one vote
disadvantages of FPTP
- limited choice: many constituencies are safe seats and so other parties have little prospect of seeing candidate win - encourages tactical voting (Bootle)
- disproportional outcome: number of seats won doesn’t reflect none of voted received accurately (party can form gov on 35% vote) (Reform 5 seats + 4mil)
- plurality rather than majority support: winning candidates don’t need to receive majority of votes cast (2010- 2/3 MPs didn’t achieve majority in constituency - 1935 was last time governing party won a majority of popular vote)
- Votes are on unequal value: disparities in sizes of constituencies mean votes have different values,
FPTP creates large number of wasted votes (2015 - 50% votes went to losing candidates) - disencourages participation: disincentivises small party supporters to turnout due to belief that vote is wasted
where is AMS used
- Scottish Parliament
- Welsh parliament
- London assembly
opinion poll
an assessment of public opinion by questioning a representative sample
