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Summary Politics A Level Electorate Systems Notes
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Electorate SystemsFirst Past the Post
- FPTP is a simple plurality system where the candidate with the most votes will be elected and does not
have to win by a certain majority. It is used in UK general elections where voters cast one vote for their
preferred candidate and the candidate with the largest number of votes in a constituency (seat) will be
elected to Parliament as an MP.
- There are 650 constituencies in the UK
- The party with the most seats can form a government.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
FPTP often leads to a strong government with a clear FPTP is not a proportional system as votes do not
mandate to carry out its policies because the winning party translate into seats. FPTP benefits parties with
can win a clear majority. concentrated support, whilst parties with more thinly
FPTP gives voters a clear choice and promotes a system spread support win fewer seats.
where two parties dominate. - In the 2015 general election, the SNPs 1.4 million
- In 1997, Tony blair carried out constitutional votes were highly concentrated in Scotland and
reforms after a large election victory where Labour translated into 56 seats whilst UKIP 3.8 million
won 418 seats. votes translated into 1 seat.
FPTP provides strong representation in the UK with small There is a limited choice for some voters in FPTP because
constituencies having a single MP to represent their many seats are safe seats where the MP has a secure
interests. majority and it is very unlikely that another candidate will
MPs hold surgeries to listen to their needs and offer win the election.
advice - Theresa May’s constituency, Maidenhead, is a
- The average constituency size in England is safe seat with the Conservatives winning over
72,000 60% of the vote in 2017.
FPTP is a simple and easy for voters to understand
because voters choose one candidate with a single vote, People voting other parties may think their vote is wasted.
and the winning party is the one with the most seats
FPTP often results in a government being elected with a
minority of the popular vote (less than 50%) which
weakens the government’s mandate.
People may also consider a government with a minority of
the popular votes as being unrepresentative of the will of
the people.
As MPs only need to win by one more vote than other
candidates, they can be elected with a minority of the
popular vote (less than 50%).
Single Transferable Vote
- Divides a country into multi-member constituencies.
- Under a system of STV, voters number their choice of candidate in order of preference.
- Candidates require a certain quota to be elected, which is calculated by dividing the total votes cast by
(the number of seats contested in the constituency plus one), and then adding one (the Droop formula)
- If no candidate reaches the quota on the first round of voting then the candidate with the lowest vote is
eliminated and the second preference of voters supporting them are redistributed.
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
, Under a system of STV, votes and seats are highly In the system of STV, the link between members and voters can
proportional to one another. be weak because there are many members representing the
- Parties with a more thinly distributed vote can same constituents rather than one member.
win seats unlike in FPTP.
- There are fewer wasted votes because voters' The voting system is more complicated than FPTP and takes
second preferences are transferred to another longer to reach a final result, particularly if there are many
candidate if their first preference candidate is rounds of counts where candidates are eliminated.
eliminated.
STV offers a large choice for voters because Donkey voting can take place where voters rank the candidates
multi-member constituencies mean that voters can in the order they appear on the ballot paper, rather than ordering
choose between candidates from the same party and based on their preference.
from different parties.
- In the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election,
the DUP had 3 candidates and Alliance had 2
candidates standing in the Belfast East
constituency.
Strength of government
FPTP is likely to produce a government with a stronger mandate to govern than under STV
Under STV a coalition government is most likely which can lead to instability and less effective policy making
than under a FPTP system which can produce a one party winner.
STV can also result in a minority government which is a government that runs the country but without à
majority of seats in the legislature.
FPTP not strong government
FPTP can result in minority government, as with the Conservative government in 2017.
FPTP can result in a coalition government, as with Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in 2010.
However under a FPTP a coalition or minority government is less likely.
Choice of candidates
FPTP offers voters a limited choice of candidates, with one candidate per party in each constituency.
STV offers more choice with voters able to choose between multiple candidates front the same party
Outcome fairness
FPTP is less proportional in transferring votes into seats, whilst STV translates votes into seats more fairly.
- Under STV are smaller parties and parties with a more thinly spread support are better represented
than under FPTP
In the 2017 general election which uses FPTP, the liberal Democrats won over 7% of the votes but under 2%
of the seats in Parliament. UKIP won 600,000 votes but no seats.
Representative link
FPTP provides a strong link between politicians and the voters who they represent.
- Under FPTP in the UK general election, there are small constituencies with a single MP to represent
them.
STV can provide a weaker link between representatives and voters because of large multi-member
constituents where many members represent the same constituents.
- In the northern Ireland Assembly, there are 5 members representing each constituency.
Additional Member System
AMS is an electoral system where voters have two votes: one vote for their constituency representative using
FPTP and a second vote for a ‘party list’ in order to elect an ‘additional’ representative.
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