ELECTORAL SYSTEMS - EVIDENCE/CASE STUDIES

Question 1

What happened during the Alternative Vote System Referendum in 2011?

Answer 1

• It posed the question of whether MP’s should be elected by First
  Past The Post or the Alternative Vote system in subsequent General Elections
• Only 42% of voters decided to vote in this referendum with 67.9% of voters arguing that
  FPTP should stay on as the voting system
• Often regarded as the “Forgotten Referendum”

Question 2

What happened during the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014?

Answer 2

• Vote for Scottish Independence from the UK
• 46% voted for independence whereas 54% voted against indepenence
• Scotland only makes up 10% of the UK economy so leaving would be bad for them

Question 3

What happened during the Brexit Referendum in 2016?

Answer 3

• Vote to leave European Union
• Ultimately, electorate voted to leave 51.9% to 48.1%
• Ultimately impacted the economy in a really negative way, essentially the reason for the cost of living crisis

Question 4

Key examples for FPTP:

Answer 4

GE24: labour win landslide majority of 412 seats with 34% of the vote
GE24: 4 in 10 Lib dem voters said their vote was tactical in 2024
GE19: SNP win 48 seats with 4% of the vote
GE17: The British National Party were never able to gain a seat in Parliament
GE15: UKIP win 1 seat of votes despite 12% of the votes

Question 5

Key examples for AMS:

Answer 5

2021 Scottish Parliament Election: SNP won 62 of 73 constituency seats but only 2 regional seats, showing how that system balances strong constituency wins with fewer regional seats to keep results proportional
2016 Scottish Parliament election: Scottish greens won no constituency seats but gained 6 regional seats, demonstrates AMS helps smaller parties get representation
2021 Scottish Parliament Election: High turnout of 65%, dramatically higher than 2016 which was 55%

Question 6

Key examples for STV:

Answer 6

2022 Northern Irish Assembly Election: Sinn Fein win 30% of seats with 29% of votes (proportional)
2022 and 2016 NI Assembly Elections: 63% and 64% turnout respectively - are people really confused about electoral formula?
To date: Sinn Fein and DUP have dominated over 50% of seats in NI with opposition being fragmented
To date: The NI Assembly has been shut down for over 40% of its existence