Summary First Past the Post Electoral System in the UK
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Course
Electoral Systems
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
- UK constituencies
- What is FPTP?
- Advantages and Disadvantages of FPTP
- Arguments FPTP has disproved
- Complete with case studies, examples and statistics
First Past the Post
Used in UK general elections and local elections in England and Wales
Voters vote for a representative for a constituency
Voters have one vote only
Candidate who gets most votes in a constituency wins the seat- Plurality System
UK divided into 650 constituencies
Constituencies are supposed to be fairly equal in population size, averaging around 75,000,
however vary from 110,700 in the Isle of Wight to 21,300 in the Western Isles
Arguments FPTP has Disproved
Argument- The 2019 election was an endorsement of Boris’ BREXIT strategy
However, 43.6% of people voted for the conservatives; if this had been a referendum, the
BREXIT deal would’ve been rejected, despite the election being viewed as the country’s vote of
support for BREXIT
Even Conservative + UKIP votes did not make up over 50%
Argument- The 2019 election demonstrates the need for a second Scottish independence
referendum
The SNP claimed that winning 45/59 (a majority) Scottish seats justified another referendum
However, the Conservative party highlighted that the SNP had not won the majority of the vote
in Scotland (even if combined with Scottish Green votes, who also advocated a second
referendum) and thus there was no clear need for another referendum
Argument- The 2019 election was a failure for the liberal democrats
The Liberal Democrats, who lost a seat (which happened to be that held by its leader), actually
had the biggest gain in votes in the 2019 election
Argument- General elections which use FPTP have the highest voter turn out, so FPTP is most
favoured
General elections are more important than other elections, which is more likely why turnout is
higher
First-Past-The-Post: Advantages
It gives voters a clear choice between two parties with distinct programmes for government
It establishes the constituency link between MPs and voters- this is good representation
Winning parties can fulfil their manifesto pledges without the need to compromise in a coalition
It allows for strong governments- governments have a healthy majority and can get things done
(not the case 2010-2017)
It allows for stable governments- single-party governments are less likely to collapse, so provide
certainty and stability
Extremist parties are unlikely to get a foothold
Practicality: easy to understand so less wasted votes, costs less and needs less volunteers and
resources
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