This document contains essay plans for the following questions:
Evaluate the view various electoral systems in use in the UK make a difference to party representation
Evaluate the view that changing the electoral system would give more power to minor parties
Evaluate the view that the success of...
Evaluate the view various electoral systems in use in the UK make a difference to party
representation
Strong and stable gov/ voter choice
Para 1 - FPTP
They do They do not
- FPTP is designed to allow a one - Duopoly has been in decline
party rule which is clear in 2019 - 2010 coalition with Con and LibDem
election with Boris Johnson winning - 2017 power sharing agreement with
majority of 78 Con and DUP due to conservatives
- Leads to duopoly which has being 9 short of a majority
consistently been between Labour - Minor parties coming into more
and Con (either party has been prominent positions
winning the most seats)
- Electoral Commission showed that
in 2019 election, whereas Con need
38,300 for a seat, minor parties like
Green needed 865,000
- Notorious for disproportionately
highlighted by how in 2016 Cameron
won 50.9% seats with 36.9% votes
Para 2 - AMS
They do They do not
- Party representation to lead to - SNP won a majority in 2011
coalitions due to hybrid system - Single party dominance
- Variety of party arrangements - Wales dominated by Labour
- SNP/Greens power sharing - SNP dominates Scotland since 2007
agreement in 2021 scotland - 2/3s of seats in Wales are
- Cons are a minority in devolved determined by FPTP
areas due to regional top up list - 56/129 seats in Scotland are FPTP
- More proportional: Scotland 2016, - Want more proportionality but is it
max difference between MSPs really due to FPTP element
elected and returned was 5%
2021 - SNP won 47.7% vote gaining
49.6% seats
Para 3: STV
They do They do not
- Coalitions are guaranteed due to - Seems adversarial like FPTP due to
power sharing built in via Good Sinn Fein vs DUP dominating
Friday Agreement in 1998 system
- Between Sinn Fein and DUP - Ulster Unionist Party and SDLP
- Parties like Alliance have gained have less influence
due to this system as STV aims to
boost minor parties (3rd most votes
in 2022
, Evaluate the view that changing the electoral system would give more power to minor parties
FPTP does not restrict minor parties:
- 2017 hung parliament between DUP and Conservatives
- Duopoly has been in decline as seen via coalition between Conservatives and
LibDems
FPTP does restrict minor parties:
- Has been dominated by Conservative and Labour
- 2017 - Conservative and Labour won 89% seats
- 2019 - Conservative and Labour won 87% seats
- Electoral Commission noted in 2019 that whilst it takes 38,300 votes to elect a
Conservative MP on average but it would take 865,000 to elect a Green MP
- 2019 - Green Party won 1 seat despite winning 3% votes
STV does not give influence to minor parties:
- Used in Northern Ireland, has led to dominance of Sinn Fein and DUP
STV does give influence to minor parties:
- Under FPTP, UKIP with 3.9m votes in 2015 had 1 seat under FPTP but under STV,
would have been 54 seats
- Preferred by Electoral Reform Society
- Good Friday Agreement has strived to always lead to coalitions
- 2022 mayoral elections: Alliance party gained 3rd largest amount of seats
AMS does not give influence to minor parties:
- Welsh Labour dominate Welsh Senedd (1 short of majority in 2021)
AMS does give influence to minor parties:
- Green party in power sharing agreement in 2021 as SNP were 1 short of a majority
- After 2011, not Labour or Conservative dominating devolved areas but SNP instead
- SNP had majority in 2011 in Scotland possibly due to calls for independence
- If 2019 election was under AMS, electoral reform calculated that Green Party would
have 38 seats instead of just 1 and Brexit party would have 12 instead of none
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