UK POLITICS - Electoral systems

Question 1

Is FPTP pluralist or majoritarian? Why?

Answer 1

Pluralist: an MP does not need an ‘absolute majority’ ( >50%) to win the seat.

Question 2

Define a ‘safe seat’

Answer 2

A seat that has no realistic possibility of being won by any other than one party

Question 3

Define a marginal or ‘swing seat’

Answer 3

Any seat that has a realitic possibility of voting for one of multiple parties

Question 4

Why is FPTP considered a two-party system?

Answer 4

Smaller parties have little to no chance of winning any seats even if they have widespread support

Question 5

[FPTP] Which constituency did the SNP win in by only 2 votes in 2017?

Answer 5

North-East Fife

Question 6

[FPTP] What was Labour’s winning margin in Lewisham Deptford in 2019?

Answer 6

33,000

Question 7

Give five features of FPTP elections

Answer 7

• A two-party system
• A winner’s bonus
• Bias to major parties
• Discrimination against third and smaller parties
• Single-party government

Question 8

[FPTP] What percentage of people voted LibDem in 2019 and how how many seats did they get?

Answer 8

11.5% and only 11 seats

Question 9

What is a ‘winner’s bonus’ as a feature of FPTP?

Answer 9

Where a relatively small lead over the second-place party translates to a substantial lead in parliament

Question 10

What percentage of the vote and seats did Blair get in 1997?

Answer 10

63% of seats
43% of votes

Question 11

Define tactical voting

Answer 11

Tactical voting: voters who believe in smaller parties’ manifestos may vote for major parties because they have a higher chance of winning

Question 12

What was Green’s and Conservatives’ votes per MP in the 2024 General Election?

Answer 12

450,000 votes per Green MP
55,000 votes per Conservative MP

Question 13

Why is FPTP considered to make stable and cohesive governments? Give a criticism of this theory.

Answer 13

Large majority (due to winner’s bonus and favour of large parties) means an easier time passing legislation and governing with little scrutiny, Brown and 2008
- Unchecked power and lack of scrutiny leads to instability, see Blair and Iraq; smaller majorities may lead to greatre scrutiny, such as under May and the largest losing margin in history

Question 14

Why is FPTP considered unrepresentative? Give a criticism of this theory.

Answer 14

Winner’s bonus and a pluralist system leads to majorities that doesn’t represent the will of the people - Churchill gets a majority in 1951 despite having 1% less votes than Labour
- Any system is disproportional due to tactical voting - 1/3 of voters tactically voted in 2024

Question 15

How does FPTP create a strong MP-constituency link? Give a criticism of this.

Answer 15

The one MP representation gives constituents a clear idea of who represents them, who to talk to if they have an issue (redress of grievance), and who is accountable to them.
- Given the un proportional nature of FPTP, many people don’t view that MP as ‘their’ MP so have weaker links to them compared to a system like AV - 70% of votes were ignored in 2024

Question 16

How does FPTP keep out extremist parties? Give a criticism of this.

Answer 16

Radical parties struggle to gain traction due to unconcentrated support and due to the belief they won’t gain power - BNP gained 2% of the vote in 2024 but no seats
- This affects all smaller parties and discourages any non-centrist policy - Greens had 9x more Votes per MP than Conservatives in 2024
- They still have an effect on politics - UKIP and BREXIT

Question 17

Where is FPTP used?

Answer 17

General elections

Question 18

Where is AMS used?

Answer 18

Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, the Greater London Assembly

Question 19

How does AMS work?

Answer 19

One vote is given for a constituency representative and one is given for a party. Each constituency gets a representative but the number of total representatives is adjusted to be more in line with party vote, with some representative being for a party rather than a constituency.

Question 20

How did AMS prevent an SNP landslide in 2016 in Scottish Parliament?

Answer 20

SNP won 59 out of 63 constituency seats and would have had 93% of seats had AMS not given Lab and Con 55 more seats in total leaving the SNP with only 48.8% of the total seats.

Question 21

[AMS] What factor was Plaid Cymru’s seats multiplied by in the 2021 elections in Welsh Parliament?

Answer 21

5-13
2.6x

Question 22

How does AMS give voters more choice? Give a criticism.

Answer 22

Two votes gives voters the choice to vote for who they want representing their constituency but also vote for the party they believe in.
- many voters may become confused by the two choices (may have been the cause of the 2024 45% turnout to Welsh Parliament elections)

Question 23

How does AMS assist smaller parties? Give a criticism.

Answer 23

The regional vote gives seats to parties whose voters are more spread out across the country - 55% of parties running in the 2021 Scottish elections were entirely new
- May elect extremist parties. However, the most extreme party to be elected was Reform who have one seat in the London Assembly. Additionally, its undemocratic to stop them
- Does it? LabCon still carry 55% of seats on average in all 3 chambers

Question 24

How is the mixed character of AMS beneficial? Give a criticism.

Answer 24

By drawing on both FPTP and proportional representation, AMS balances the need for constituency representation and electoral fairness - 70% of FPTP votes discarded in 2024
- regional representatives are unaccountable to a constituency - for groups like LabCon in Scotland, this can be up to 80% of their seats

Question 25

Where is STV used?

Answer 25

Northern Irish Assemblies and local governments

Question 26

What is the Droop formula for the STV quota?

Answer 26

Quota = ((total number of votes cast)/(number of seats to fill +1)) + 1

Question 27

If there are 6 seats in a constituency, how many candidates does STV let parties put up?

Answer 27

6

Question 28

How do you vote under STV?

Answer 28

You number the candidates, 1 being most preferable

Question 29

Does STV result in strong, stable governments? Why?

Answer 29

No, no party in Stormont has more than 30% of seats currently. This is because it was created shortly after the Troubles so Westminster wished to avoid a rebellion.

Question 30

What is the issue with STV voting ballots?

Answer 30

Due to how complicated and different they are from FPTP ballots, many end up being ‘spoilt’ or ‘donkey’ ballots as people have marked them incorrectly. The 2022 Stormont election recieved 3x more than the 2024 general elections, as a proportion of the overall votes

Question 31

How many invalid STV ballots was there in the 2022 Stormont election?

Answer 31

11,000

Question 32

Give an example of STV being proportional. Give a criticism of this.

Answer 32

The average percentage difference between the votes and seats allotted in the Stormont election 2022 was 1.377%. - This proportionality comes at the cost of a strong and cohesive government - the current executive has 4 seperate parties in it with Sinn Fein with the most at 5

Question 33

Why could it be argued that STV produces both more and less wasted ballots?

Answer 33

More: due to the complexity and difference to FPTP, many ballots are placed incorrectly and are not counted Less: given that, in some way, everyone votes for the successful candidates - their ballots are not wasted like in FPTP and all candidates have a level of legitimacy.

Question 34

[STV] Why could a multi-member constituency and executive be favourable?

Answer 34

By having multiple parties working together, you can promote more collaborative and consensual policy making and multiple people can use different specialties to cater to a diverse range of local issues. This is the same approach for the executive.

Question 35

[STV] Why could a multi-member constituency and executive not be favourable?

Answer 35

Multiple members may lead to infighting and chaos as people may not know who to go to and each is incentivised to sabotage those from other parties. It also may lead to gridlock in the executive.

Question 36

Where is SV used?

Answer 36

Used to be all mayoral elections and in elections for police and crime commissioners. Now it is only the latter.

Question 37

How does SV work?

Answer 37

Voters give their first and second choice. The top two candidates stay and all those that voted for them as their second choice are transferred and whoever has more is elected.

Question 38

[SV] According to the ERS, how many London Mayors have actually gotten more than 50% of the vote in 20 years? Why

Answer 38

Only 1: Sadie Khan in 2016. This is because ‘non-transferable votes’ are excluded.

Question 39

Give evidence that SV discriminates against 3rd party candidates.

Answer 39

Independent Ken Livingstone is the only London mayor to have not been from LabCon, in 2000-2008.

Question 40

What is the average turnout to Police and Crime Commissioner Contests?

Answer 40

27.3%

Question 41

What is the reason for 80% of disqualified SV ballots?

Answer 41

No second preference recoded.

Question 42

How many wasted ballots was there in the 2021 London Mayoral elections?

Answer 42

214,000

Question 43

How does SV lead to more and less wasted votes?

Answer 43

More: the complex and foreign system of voting can lead many to fill the ballot incorrectly and those who don’t vote for the top two candidates are entirely excluded - 214,000 wasted in 2021. Less: the use of a second choice means that less votes are wasted on smaller parties with less likelihood of winning - 277000 votes transferred in 2021.

Question 44

How does SV discourage extremism, giving an example? How might this affect smaller parties?

Answer 44

Extremist views are less likely to gain first preference votes so moderate views (that will attract more FP votes) are incentivised. Reclaim only gained 1.9% of the vote in 2019. - Smaller parties with ideas of reform are less likely to get first Preference votes so will not get to the second round, every single mayor (except Livingston) has been LabCon

Question 45

How does SV legitimate Mayoral decisions? Give a criticism.

Answer 45

SV is designed to require more than half the vote (whether first or second vote) so it is believed that the decisions are legitimate because they have the permission of an absolute majority of the people - Khan won 55% of second round votes - In reality, only one Mayor has ever been voted in with more than 50% of the votes (Sadiq Khan) due to the volume of wasted votes. - Even if we ignore that, 45% of second round votes are being ignored

Question 46

Define a referendum.

Answer 46

A device of direct democracies where the electors can vote to express their view on a particular issue of public policy.

Question 47

When did referendums become commonplace in the UK and by who?

Answer 47

Blair’s New Labour in 1997.

Question 48

What percentage of MPs were Remainers and yet what percent voted to trigger Article 50 to leave? Why?

Answer 48

80% Remainers, 77% voted to trigger Article 50. This is because referendums have popular sovereignty which means parliament is very unlikely to ignore the result of one.

Question 49

Give 4 reasons to hold a referendum, giving an example for each.

Answer 49

- Issue at hand is so crucial, direct consent is required (Good Friday Agreement 1998) - Issue cuts across party lines (Brexit 2016) - Conflict within the wider community (Good Friday Agreement 1998) - Proposed constitutional reform (Extension of devolution to Wales 2011)

Question 50

Give the referendums with the highest and lowest turnouts.

Answer 50

Highest: Good Friday Agreement 1998: 81% Lowest: Should London have an elected mayor and assembly 1998: 33%.

Question 51

What referendum was acted on with the highest percentage of the electorate’s vote?

Answer 51

Good Friday Agreement 1998 81% turnout X 71% Yes = 57.51% of electorate

Question 52

What referendum was acted on with the lowest percentage of the electorate’s vote?

Answer 52

Extension of law-making powers to Welsh Assembly 2011 35% turnout X 64% Yes = 22.4% of electorate

Question 53

Why do governments usually call referendums?

Answer 53

Normally, governments use referendums to secure direct consent for their major policies. New Labour’s Devolution to Scotland, Wales and NI in the late 1990’s.

Question 54

Why can referendums hurt governments?

Answer 54

It is a sever blow to a government’s authority if they are on the losing side of a referendum - David Cameron resigned after supporting Remain the Brexit Referendum.

Question 55

What was the effect of Brexit on Scottish Independence?

Answer 55

Because the UK left the EU but Scotland was 62% remain, there were renewed demands for Scottish independence given the clear diversion of aims.

Question 56

How can the use of referendums be used to resolve long standing disputes? Give a criticism.

Answer 56

By directly asking the electorate, the government can conclusively decide on the merit of policies - the decisive rejection of AV replacing FPTP for general elections kicked the conversation into the long grass. - governments can keep asking the same question until they get the answer they want - referendums of devolution to Wales and Scotland have been held 4 times (1979 and 1997)

Question 57

How are referendums positive for public political education? Give a criticism.

Answer 57

Media coverage and the direct consequences of referendums encourages voters to become more aware of the problem and referendum discusses - Media coverage is filled with misleading and oversimplified information that may make members of the electorate not vote in their best interest (Fishers, Brexit and the CFP)

Question 58

According to the Reuters institute, how many articles about Brexit were published daily by 9 major newspapers between February and June?

Answer 58

42 daily

Question 59

How can referendums make governments both more and less accountable to the people?

Answer 59

More: referendums have popular sovereignty so are hard for the government to ignore even if they disagree with it - Cameron had to step down after the Brexit referendum due to being a Remainer. Less: the government chooses when to call a referendum and rarely does so if they think it will go against them, additionally they can use public funds to fudge the results - £9 million of taxpayer money for a leaflet on the benefits of staying in the EU.

Question 60

How can referendums be a tool of populism?

Answer 60

As we saw in Brexit, referenda are very frequently manipulate by politicans that misinform the public to gain their intended result, Atlee called it "the instrument of Nazism and fascism."