electoral systems

Question 1

Parliamentary constituency act 2020:

Answer 1

raised the number of seats from 600 to 650

Question 2

FPTP issue 2015 election

Answer 2

Cameron awaited the vote of 45 million voters. The FPTP system had translated a small increase in votes for the conservatives into an absolute majority of seats. Ukip had gained 3.9 million votes, and one single seat.

Question 3

2019 election turnout

Answer 3

67.3%

Question 4

West Lancashire By-election February 2023

Answer 4

Ashley Dalton won – labour hold

Question 5

How many coalitions and minorities have there been post WW2?

Answer 5

Since 1945 there has been 1 coalition government in 2010 and 2 minority government 2017 and 1974.

Question 6

what is the average time taken to form a government?

Answer 6

UKs average time taken to form a government from the 1950s -2010 is 2 days. In Belgium it is 98 days.

Question 7

when have there recently been hung parliaments and coalitions?

Answer 7

in 2010 there was a hung parliament in which the conservatives only won 306 seats. Slim majorities can be weak like Theresa May in 2017.

Question 8

2019 South down constituency

Answer 8

in 2019 the South Down constituency was won by Sinn Fein with only 32.4% of the vote, meaning almost 68% of South Downs registered voters did not vote for Sinn Fein.

Question 9

Changing % of the vote needed for a majority

Answer 9

In 1974 labour’s 37.2% of the vote resulted in a weak minority government, but in 2005 and 2015 this same number resulted in majority governments.

Question 10

How many votes did each party need for a seat in 2019?

Answer 10

in 2019 a conservative needed 38,000 votes per seat, Labour Party needed 50,000 votes per seat, SNP needed 26,000 votes per seat, Liberal Democrats needed 336,000 votes per seat, and Green Party needed 865,000 votes per seat.

Question 11

Regional seat/vote distribution - SNP seats to votes in 2015 vs UKIP and Green party:

Answer 11

2015 SNP received 1,454,000 votes and won 56 of Scotland’s 59 seats. Ukip and the Green Party received a total of 4.9 million votes and two seats.

Question 12

What % of votes were not for winners in 2019?

Answer 12

In 2019 only 29.2% of the votes were necessary for winners

Question 13

How many seats did the electoral reform society calculate in 2019?

Answer 13

The electoral reform society correctly predicted the outcome of 316 safe seats before the 2019 general election.

Question 14

When was the last time constituencies changes hands on average?

Answer 14

the average UK constituency had not changed hands for 42 years with 30% of the total seats last changing in 1945 or earlier.

Question 15

What percentage of voters voted tactically in 2019?

acording to you gov

Answer 15

A “you gov” poll found 32% of voters voted tactically in 2019.

Question 16

Where is the supplementary vote used in the uk?

Answer 16

used to elect majors in the UK and use in police and crime commissioner elections. Voters select a second preference and first preference

Question 17

Supplementary vote in London mayor election 2022:

Answer 17

in the 2021 London mayor election labour’s Sadiq Khan was leading in votes however did not have an absolute majority. In the second count Sadiq Khan had won 55.2% of the vote, compared to its previous 40%.

Question 18

Where is AV used in the UK?

Answer 18

labour and Lib Dem leadership elections, House of Lords by elections and House of Commons select committee chair elections.

Question 19

Example of AV in electing committee chairs:

Answer 19

In 2020, the defence committee chair was only decided after the fourth stage , with Tobias Ellwood eventually achieving an absolute majority.

Question 20

In a proportional system how many seats would each party of won in 2019?

Answer 20

the conservatives would have worn 288 seats instead of 365 and labour 216.

Question 21

Where was a closed party list used in the UK?

Answer 21

British elections to European Parliament prior to Brexit.

Question 22

How many seats did each party win in the 2019 European parliament elections?

Answer 22

the Brexit party won 29 seats, the Lib Dem party won 16 seats, labour won ten seats, Green Party won 7 seats and the conservatives won 4 seats.

Question 23

Where is the single transferrable vote used in the uk?

Answer 23

Northern Irish assembly and Irish local elections, and for local elections in Scotland

Question 24

What did a mixed system being used in Scotland do to results in 2019?

Answer 24

In 2019 both a constituency first past the post system and a regional party list system was used. This resulted in the SNP winning 62 seats in the first past the post system and two seats in the regional system.

Question 25

What vote share did the good Friday agreement receive in 1998?

Answer 25

it received a 71% vote in favour with a turn out of 81% giving the act a strong mandate.

Question 26

How many people voted in favour of continued membership of the EU in 1975?

Answer 26

In 1975 over 17 million people voted in favour of continued membership of the European Community.

Question 27

What % of 16-17 year olds voted in the 2014 Scottish referendum?

Answer 27

a participation rate of 75% and 97% of 16 to 17 year olds who voted said that they would vote again in future referendums.

Question 28

the political parties, elections and referendums act of 2000

Answer 28

Created the electoral committee, which helps to address some of the common concerns people have with referendums.

Question 29

How many refurendums since 1973 have had a higher turnout than the 2015 general election?

Answer 29

only two referendums since 1973 have had higher turn out than the 2015 election.

Question 30

How much did the 2011 alternative vote referendum cost to hold?

Answer 30

the 2011 alternative vote referendum costs over 75 million pounds to hold.

Question 31

vote share to seat share in 2019

Answer 31

In the 2019 election the conservative party won 43.6% of the vote but 56.2% of the seats