Electoral Systems Flashcards
What electoral system do they have in each election?
General Elections is FPTP
Mayoral Elections are SV
Scottish and Welsh Assemblies are AMS
Northern Irish Assembly is STV
Police and Crime Commissioner is SV
How often is the size of the constituencies reviewed?
Every 8-12 years
Pros of FPTP
- Stops extremism
- Produces stable governments???
- Simple system - increases turnout and reduces spoiled ballots
- MP - Constituency link - provides clear link and accountability
- Centrist Policies
Cons of FPTP
- Creates a two party system - as it is a winner takes all system, voters who vote for representatives who don’t come second or first are forced to tactically vote for someone who represents their views and might actually win
- Or, might vote to make sure someone doesn’t get elected
- Alasdair McDonnel, 2015, 24.5% of the vote in his constituency of Belfast South and still won the seat
- Lack of Voter choice
- Unequal vote value
- No Majority needed - plurality and wasted votes
- Disproportionate results
What is STV?
- Uses proportional representation which is an electoral system which produces institutions represent the votes cast
- Converts votes into seats in a broadly proportional way
- E.g., Northern Ireland
- Only used here as often produces two party coalition - which is needed here
How does STV work?
- Constituencies are larger than if FPTP
- There are multiple seats available for each constituency
- Each party is permitted to put up as many candidates as there are seats although in practice most parties only put up 4 candidates as winning all seats is very unlikely
- Voters order the candidates by preference
- Voters can vote for candidates from different parties
E.g., 50,000 votes in a 6 seat constituency (plus one seat)
50,000/7 = 7,144 (quota)
First preference for candidates are counted
Any candidates who achieve the quota are automatically elected
‘excess’ votes are redistributed
Least popular candidate is eliminated and their secondary vote is reassigned
Process continues until 6 candidates have reached the quota
Votes needed to win = [Valid Votes Cast/Seats to fill(+1)]
Pros of STV
- It produces a far more proportional outcome
- Much greater choice for voters and all votes are taken into consideration
- Voters can choose between candidates from different parties and show preference for candidates within the same party
- Multiple representatives per constituency so voters get much more choice as to who represents them
- Much easier for small parties and independent candidates to get elected
- Coalition government so there must be consensus on important issues - more democratic
Cons of STV
- More complex
- Voting count can take a very long time and may take weeks to form a coalition government
- Relies on coalitions and compromise to succeed; e.g., Northern Ireland assembly failure since 2017 (still being governed by Westminster)
- Extremist parties more likely to gain representation; e.g., Traditional Unionist Voice and People before Profit
- Less link between representative and constituency as constituencies are much larger
- Voters may engage in ‘donkey voting’ - choose random people after their first choice
What is AMS?
- Used in Scottish, Welsh and Greater London Assembly
- Lib Dems and SNP wanted STV in Scotland and Wales - AMS was a compromise
- Provides an element of proportionality whilst retaining local representation
How does AMS work?
- Voters have two votes
- First is for a constituency representative, who is elected via FPTP
- Second is for a regional representative who is elected using party list and uses multi-member regional constituencies (is proportional)
- Fewer list members than constituency representatives in each assembly, so known as ‘additional’ members
- The ‘additional members’ are added to make Parliament more proportional; via the ‘d’Hont System’
AMS compared to FPTP 2019 projection
Seats under AMS compared to seat difference:
Conservatives - 284 seats (-81)
Labour - 188 (-15)
Lib Dems - 79 (+68)
Green Party 38 (+37)
SNP - 26 (-22)
BREXIT Party - 12 (+12)
What is a referendum?
A referendum is a vote on an issue, usually requiring a yes/no response
- It is an example of direct democracy
- No constitutional mechanism requiring PM to hold a referendum - requires an act of parliament
- E.g., EU Referendum Act 2015 (UK EU membership referendum, 2016)
- The result does not have legal force and must be approved by Parliament
How is a referendum different to an election?
- Elections must be held at regular intervals (convention says every five years or so as fixed term parliament act was scrapped) and voters choose representatives for political positions
- A Referendum is a political choice, with no legal or constitutional requirement. Normally on major issues where the government feels obliged to consult the electorate
- As of now, there have been 9 regional referendums and 3 UK wide referendums
History of Referendums
8 March 1973: Northern Ireland – whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the UK or join the Republic of Ireland – Yes to remaining part of the UK
5 June 1975: UK – Whether the UK should stay in the European Community – Yes
1 March 1979: Scotland – Whether there should be a Scottish Assembly (40% of the electorate had to vote yes in the referendum, although a small majority voted yes this was short of the 40% threshold required to enact devolution)
1 March 1979: Wales – Welsh devolution referendum on whether there should be a Welsh Assembly – no
11 September 1997: Scotland – Whether there should be a Scottish Parliament and whether the Scottish Parliament should have tax varying powers – both referendums received a yes vote
18 September 1997: Wales – Whether there should be a National Assembly for Wales – Yes
7 May 1998: London – Whether there should be a Mayor of London and Greater London Authority – Yes
22 May 1998: Northern Ireland – Northern Ireland Belfast Agreement referendum on the Good Friday Agreement – Yes
3 March 2011: Wales – Whether the National Assembly for Wales should gain the power to legislate on a wider range of matters – Yes
5 May 2011: UK – Whether to change the voting system for electing MPs to the House of Commons from first past the post to the alternative vote – No
18 September 2014: Scotland – Whether Scotland should become independent – No
23 June 2016: Uk – Whether the UK should leave or remain in the EU – Leave
