NEWEST IN UNIT 3 electoral system

3.1 Different electoral systems. 3.2 Referendums and how they are used.
• First-past-the-post (FPTP), Additional Member System • How referendums have been used in the UK and their
(AMS), Single Transferable Vote (STV) Supplementary impact on UK political life since 1997.
Vote (SV). • The case for and against referendums
• The advantages and disadvantages of these different
systems.
• Comparison of first-past-the-post (FPTP) to a different
electoral system in a devolved parliament/assembly.

3.3 Electoral system analysis.

• Debates on why different electoral systems are used in the
UK.
• The impact of the electoral system on the government or
type of government appointed.
• The impact of different systems on party representation
and of electoral systems on voter choice.

3.1 FPTP must be replaced with a more proportional voting system. HFDYA
3.1 Elections in Westminster must be reformed. HFDYA
3.1 FPTP is functioning well in UK democracy. HFDYA
3.1 FPTP must be replaced with SV/AMS. HFDYA
3.1 The advantage of more proportional systems outweigh the disadvantages

3.3 FPTP is an ineffective system for electing representatives. HFDYA

3.3 Elections do not enhance UK democracy. HFDYA
3.3 FPTP leads to undemocratic governments. HFDYA
3.3 Voter choice is minimised in UK elections HFDYA
3.3 SV should be used for UK general elections. HFDYA
3.3 AMS is the most democratic voting system in the UK. HFDYA
3.3 FPTP is the key factor in entrenching a two party state. HFDYA
 FPTP SHOULD BE CHANGED, NOT GOOD
FPTP must be replaced with a more proportional voting system. HFDYA

themes counter dismissal Own view

Strong and stable FPTP favour and tend to produce strong stable parties
1997 Blair - 176
Labour Party received a huge ‘winner’s bonus’ with
their percentage of seats being 20.2% higher than their
percentage of votes. This allowed Labour to secure
the largest-ever parliamentary majority in history (179
seats) on just 43.2% of the national vote = elective
dictaorship
These include devolution to Scotland, Wales and
London, the introduction of new rights
protection instruments including Human Rights and
Freedom of Information Acts.
Minor party can do well SNP
Despite UKIP 1 seat from 4 mil votes in 2015 still wide
success bc biggest influence had on tory party
Labour Party received a huge ‘winner’s bonus’ with their
percentage of seats being 20.2% higher than their
percentage of votes. This allowed Labour to secure the
largest-ever parliamentary majority in history (179 seats) on
just 43.2% of the national vote = elective dictatorship
Not guaranteed
2010, 2015,2017 failed to produce single decisive govt
majority
- failed to achieve main objectives
2017 - DUP Theresa may supply and confidence
COALITION GOVT [but still lasted full term parliament]
- passing legislation lack legitimacy
2017 general election. Theresa May called a snap GE in
order to gain a larger majority
Govt created not strong or stable they lack legitimacy -
negates compromise
2015 TORY WON
BUT ELECTED BY JUST 37% POPULAR VOTE SO
63% DIDN'T EVEN VOTE FOR GOVERNING PARTY
→ led peter tatchell foundation protest outside HoC for
voting reform
No longer fulfil traditional strengths of single party
→ even seen in coalition and how win of tory in
—--campaign was based on avoiding a lab and SNP
coalition

Was defeated 230 on her brexit plan in 2019

Proportionality ensure 2 party system w centrist policy manifesto,
ensure no one feels excluded as main party adopt
minor party policy
1979 = The three main parties won 94.6% of all votes,
with the Conservatives and Labour winning 80.8%.
This indicates a clear ideological choice for voters
TORY MANIFESTO - lower emission rates to zero
2050’ from GREEN party
First Past the Post requires a party to win
concentrated support. This has the effect of limiting
BOUNDARY COMMISSION REVIEW unfair election w ARTIFICIAL MAJORITYS
Not solve the problem of safe seat because bc not
consider voting patterns within area 2015 con gain 37% votes but 51% seats
Significant political impact likely benefit tory
Boundary Reviews can have a significant political impact. Total estimated amount wasted votes according to
The current plans for the 2023 will likely benefit the ‘makevotesmatter’ -2019 – 71.2%
Conservative Party who if the 2019 General Election had
been run under the new boundaries, would have won
between 5-10 seats more. Given the fact there are more
seats in England, but less in Wales and Scotland, this will
likely come at the expense of Labour and the SNP.
 the ability of extremist parties to get into Parliament,
as although they might be popular across the country,
they are very unlikely to have enough support within a
particular constituency to beat one of the major
parties
EXCLUSION EXTREMIST PARTY
1979 - national front 0.6% votes 191,000 and NO
SEATS IN PARLIAMENT 0
However, in the 2009 European Elections under the
Closed Party List the BNP won 6.2% of votes and won
2 seats in the European Parliament.
Boundary commission review = independent body
ensure constituencies contain roughly equal no voters
so everyone eligible vote represented equally
Voter choice MP constituency link, representative in HoC - local
issue
Heathrow expansion, HS2 railway, 8 tory MP against
party line
Division local areas - representative democracy more
choice bc voter specific to constituency, hold opens
surgeries
SIMPLE SYSTEM
General Elections under FPTP have traditionally seen
relatively low numbers of Spoiled and Invalid Ballots.
Whilst some ballots are deliberately spoiled and are
not simply due to a lack of understanding as to how
they should be completed, such low numbers may
give some indication of the simplicity of FPTP: 2019 –
0.3% 2017 – 0.3% 2015 – 0.2%
DISPROPORTIONATE
especially for minority parties
2019
green party 860,000 for single MP
vs
TORY 38,000 for single MP
Winners bonus - most vote wins - 2019 = Conservatives
clearly received a ‘winner’s bonus’ with their percentage of
seats 12.6% higher than their percentage of the vote.
Many safe seats - mp cant be held accountable in the, so
less care for local issues bc guaranteed win
This guaranteed win seen by lack of turnout as voters feel
they have no real choice
Two party system -ALWAYS NO CHOICE simply not vote or
TACTICAL VOTING
2017 and 2019 elect
Increase tactical voting
1 in 5 voters plan tactical vote to avoid wasting vote
Yougov 2019 - 19% tactical vote
LED TO VOTE SWAP 2015-17 trade switch constituencies
to vote from online - require trust bc → some live in safe
seats so vote useless rather trade it w another person
WASTED VOTES Total estimated amount wasted votes
according to ‘makevotesmatter’ -2019 – 71.2%
The turnout in the three most marginal seats was 7.3%
higher
TURNOUT
than in the three safest seats.
Liverpool Walton ‘65% turnout [safeseat]
vs
East Dunbartonshire [80% turnout] [marginal seat]
SPOILER EFFECT - As there are usually only two likely
winners in each constituency, a spoiler effect can quickly
become apparent. This occurs when a third party
prevents an ideologically similar opponent from
winning simply by being in the race. This can result in an
overall result within a constituency that is to the disliking
of a great many voters
EG = In 2010 UKIP won 919,546 votes. Many UKIP voters,
had UKIP not been in the case, would have voted for the
Conservative candidate.
There were 10 constituencies in which UKIP won more
votes than the winning margin of either Labour or the Lib
Dems. This means UKIP voters by casting their vote
likely allowed a party to which they were ideologically
opposed to take the seat. For example, in Wells the
 Liberal Democrat beat the Conservative candidate by
800 votes, whilst the UKIP candidate won 1,711.

AMS [proportional system] hybrid = scotland, 2 votes for a local and regional representative
representation MINOR PARTY SUCCESS
Scotland, the Greens are currently in a coalition with the
SNP, having won 8 regional list seats. [2021] entered
power sharing arangment
Wales, Plaid Cymru formed a Coalition with Labour
between 2007 and 2011 after winning 15 seats.
BAD - TENSION, resentment W 2 CLASS REPRESENTATIVES
Former Labour MSP Brian Wilson said: ” I regard the list
MSPs as a breed, as an under-employed waste of space.
They have no constituency, they have no role, and they are
not elected by anyone”

Simple easy NO it can be complicated, with people getting confused over

exactly what they’re supposed to do with their two votes.
Having two votes can also lead to wasted regional votes if a
party wins a big share of the constituency result. This regularly
happens in the case of the SNP in Scotland. In 2019, there
were nearly 1.1 million regional votes for the SNP which
returned only 2 regional seats.

1st round conducted using FPTP so shares disadv

Too much power to party - control over regional list - can only
select the candidates they gave

Voter choice YES Every voter has at least one effective vote; even if the
constituency vote is wasted, the regional vote will count. It
gives voters a greater choice – they can select a minority
party for the regional vote without fearing it will be wasted
= seen in SPLIT TICKET VOTING
Scot parl elec 2021
SNP received 1,291,204 constituency votes but 1,094,374
regional list votes – 196,830 less
A number of ‘issue parties’, for example, the Women’s
Equality Party 2.15%, Rejoin EU 1.91%and Animal Welfare
1.73% were only in the regional list system. This is because
they know they will not win seats under the constituency
system and are unlikely to win under the regional system.
However, they know that they may receive enough votes in the
regional system to bring prominence to their issues. This is
because voters know that their regional vote will not matter as
much if voting for a major party. = still 0 regional seats

Strong stable govt
YES[onl AMS manages to create a situation where proportional COALITIONS EH
results can still occur with a strong government. This is → in Scotland, the Greens are currently in a coalition with the
y in scot because of the combination of the two voting methods SNP, having won 8 regional list seats. [2021]
and within the same system.
wales] in Wales, Plaid Cymru formed a Coalition with Labour
2016 – SNP: 48.8% between 2007 and 2011 after winning 15 seats.
2021 – SNP: 49.6%
 WALES 2016 – Labour: 48.3%
2021 – Labour: 50%
Proportionality YES PROPORTIONAL for minor party 2016
GREEN PARTY 7% reg vote = 6 seats
Ensure NO over rep in 2021 parl elec- SNP already 62 seat
for, 47% constituency vote so despite 40% in regional
only 2 seats for it
The SNP won by far the most number of votes in both the
constituency and regional votes. However, the formula
ensured that they were not able to dominate both the
constituency and regional vote – with only two regional
seats won. This is in order to ensure the overall
proportionality of results
2021 Scottish parl elec
SNP Total Percentage of votes: 44.02% Total Percentage of
seats: 49.06%
Conservatives Total Percentage of votes: 22.69% Total
Percentage of seats: 24.03%
Labour Total Percentage of votes: 19.75% Total Percentage
of seats: 17.05%
2019 ELEC REFORM SOC PROJECTED RESULTS
Electoral Reform Society shows the Conservatives
would have won 81 fewer seats under the regional list
proportional representation method of voting. = HUNG
PARLIAMENT
79 INSTEAD 11 LIB DEM MPs
—---------
SNP and Labour have held strong positions in the Scottish
Parliament, if AMS was deployed across the UK it is unlikely a
majority government, or even a strong minority government
would be achieved. This is because the electoral support of
Labour and the SNP is disproportionately high in Wales and
Scotland respectively compared to England
There can be overhang seats Under AMS, the overall results
are designed to be proportional. This means that after the
constituency results are counted, the regional votes will be
used to bring the party up to the overall number it should have
in order to make the results proportional. However, a situation
can emerge whereby a party wins more seats under the
regional system than its overall result indicates it should be
entitled to. This most often can happen where there are strong
regional parties. Hypothetically, if AMS was used in the UK for
General Elections, there would be a significant risk of
overhang seats for Plaid Cymru and the SNP.
2021 = SNP 43% VOTE = 49% SEATS
STV [proportional system] - northern ireland, ranking candidates in order
representation YES multi-member constituency
Examples of wide choice of representatives from
the 2022 Northern Irish Assembly

1 constituency had 2 parties represented.

9 constituencies had 3 parties represented.
8 constituencies had 4 parties represented.

Simple easy NO
2017 Northern Irish Assembly Invalid Ballots - 9,468 (0.76%) ➢ UK
General Election 2019 – 0.36%

the counting of votes is slower, and the full results of the election
are likely to be known within 48 hours rather than the 7-8 hours
under FPTP.

STV LOCAL SCOTTISH ELEC - In 2017 invalid in Local Elections in

Scotland. This was 1.95% of all ballots cast. In the UK General
Election of the same year under FPTP were invalid, this was 0.23%.

Voter choice YES More reps, also no safe seat so vote valuable w
competition = each candidate for each party is listed
separately on the ballot paper, so there is a choice
over both the party and the candidate that the voter
is choosing.

In Northern Ireland the same constituency

boundaries are used in Assembly Elections in
General Elections.
The safest seat under STV is Belfast West.
2019 General Election Belfast West – Sinn Fein win
with 53.8% of the vote: turnout 59.1%.

2022 Assembly Election Belfast West – Sinn Fein

win 4/5 seats with 6,918 first preference votes:
turnout 64.6%.
→ In the same constituency boundaries turnout is
higher under STV as there is more competition.

Strong stable govt NO political disagreements that have ended power-sharing

 arrangements.
These include: 2017 – A breakdown over the handling of a green
energy scandal.
2022 – A failure to form a new Executive over disagreements over
the Northern Ireland Protocol between the UK and Northern Ireland.
Therefore, you should be careful in blaming all the breakdowns of
the Government in Northern Ireland on STV.

much slower process of forming a government, and this can lead to

periods of instability in government - Following the General Election
in the Republic of Ireland under STV in 2020 it took 140 days for a
new government to be formed following the election when Fianna
Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party entered a coalition together for
the first time

Proportionality YES 2022 NI - Sinn Fein – 29.02% of votes and 30% of

seats
Even for lesser, minor parties
UUP – 11.17%of votes and 10% of seats

2019 ELEC REFORM SOC PROJECTED RESULTS

Electoral Reform Society shows the Conservatives
would have won 53 fewer seats under the regional
list proportional representation method of voting.
= HUNG PARLIAMENT

59 INSTEAD 11 LIB DEM MPs

SV [majortian form] london local elections, get a 1st and 2nd choice
NOT RELEVANT = The Elections Act (2022) saw First Past the Post replaced the Supplementary Vote for all the elections it was previously
used for in the UK. However, despite this, it is still a named voting system on the specification and you need to understand how it works.
representation STRONG REP LINK CREATE 2 party system = 2021 London Mayoral Election: In the
mayoral election 75.3% of voters placed one of their two votes for
either the Labour candidate or the Conservative candidate

2021 55% LAB AND 44% CON

Simple easy 2021 GREATER MANCHESTER = Andy Burnham –

 Labour 473, 024 67.31% S0 2nd pref vote Not Needed

Voter choice TACTICAL VOTING - The reason for this is that a
second vote will only be counted if it is for one of the
candidates that makes it through to the second round.
For example, every London mayoral election has been
won by either Labour or the Conservatives. Therefore, a
voter may choose to ensure that one of these parties
receives their second vote as that is the only way they
are likely to influence the election. For example, if there
is a voter whose two favourite parties are the Greens
and Lib Dems, it may make more sense for them to put
Labour as their second choice rather than one of these
two partie
point is made it is often claimed that winning candidates have
won over 50% of the vote. However, this not the case. As only
votes towards the top two candidates are valid in the second
preference counting, many thousands of votes are likely to be
discounte
→ In the six elections for the Mayor of London none have been
won on first preference votes. The highest first preference total
received was 44.2% for Sadiq Khan in 2016.

Strong stable govt yes must be able to achieve 50% of the valid votes

Proportionality NOT ALL VOTES EQUAL WASTED VOTES - because only votes for the two parties that
WASTED VOTES make it to the second round will be counted. This means that any
GREEN 197,000 vote for any second preference vote for any of the other parties is,
IB DEM 111,000 therefore, in essence, wasted.
London Mayoral Elections 2021 – 347,722 ballots did not go
through to the second round as the second preference votes were
not for either the Labour or Conservative candidate.

FPTP V STV

FPTP remains a proportional system as it allows for the
STRONG AND perpetuation of a strong and stable government to be
STABLE places as FPTP is a plurality system that involves MPs
GOVERNMENTS needing the most votes , not the majority
AO1: 2019 general election allowed for the Conservative
Party to be put in government with an 80 seat majority; it
is a strong and stable government as its majority. will
allow for gov to pass their pledges easily 2020-
withdrawal act
2010 2015 2017 the system failed to produce single
decisive government majorities
Even if party gets under 50% vote they can still form gov
and many coalition or minority gov have been formed
which aren’t strong or stable
**JOHNSONS CONSERVATIVE PARTY WON 42% OF THE
VOTE BUT WAS REWARDED 56% seats -58% electorate
didnt vote for tory
WINNERS BONUS - the largest party gains extra seats by
default
AMS
-much more proportional system
System finds a balance between need for constituency
representation and the need for a fair distribution of seats
Minor parties can become more influential
- regional list
Less risk of elective dictatorship - as there is more checks +
balance
2nd layer of representation - party list - diverse candidates
Without prolonged uncertainty - party divisions less likely
Minority SNP gov - 2016 - 63 seats

voter choice FPTP does not need to be replaced as the system has
allowed for voters to express their choices properly and
elect delegates reflective of their ideologies
2019- 421/650 seats - won with an absolute majority
—>indicates that the electorate are given choices for
delegates that suit their best interest
64% of seats in hoc have substantial legitimacy
Fptp LEADS TO DISPROPORTIONATE representation in
the HOC
FPTP is a pluralist system - which often leads to the
ACCUMULATION OF SAFE SEATS - thus eliminating
voter choice - the electorate may want overall change in
gov but can't
- 2019 - 70% votes wasted due to safe seats
rendering votes incapable of changing
outcome in such constituencies - FPTP is
flawed in giving voter choice
- Turnout will be low in safe seats - Liverpool
Walton -65%
REGIONAL vote equalises and makes it more proportionate
AMS in order to form single party gov a party must have broad
popularity across the whole country not just in concentrated
pockets- great number of parties can have input on policy -
supports greater legitimacy of gov = wales and scotland have
consistently had single party dominance and scotland did have a
majority follow 2011
STV - encourages greater multipartyism - as the proportionality
would reduce the geographic distortions currently caused by fptp
and reduce the restrictive impact on the development of the party
system =
2022 PROPORTIONAL RESULTS:
SINN FEIN - 29% of votes and 30% fo seats
DUP-21% votes-27%seats
STV
- no safe seats under STV candidates cannot be
complacent and must campaign everywhere
- Fewer votes wasted - most voters can identify a
representative they have personally helped to elect -
may 2022 elections - vast majority of voters 97% were
satisfied with the process of voting
- Multiple votes cast in order of preference - votes not
used may help a candidate reach a quota
- No requirements of tactical voting as know vote will have
impact on election
Can distribute preferences across parties - allows voters to express
highly complex preferences - every mp therefore directly
accountable to the electorate
AMS - also greater voter choice - have two votes to cast as they
can choose to exercise 2 votes for different parties - 56 regional
MPs and 73 constituency MPs - the scottish electorate receive dual
representation as their list MPs are voted on based on their parties -
in comparison to the constituency MPs that are voted for based on
the MP the self and what they put forward in the constituency
FPTP
2019 - 141 marginal seats - this means the individual candidate
becomes more important - so mps likely to campaign closely with
electorate and listen to their individual concerns in order to secure
vote in these swing seats = may result in tactical voting
representation (party FPTP keeps extremism at bay - minority parties who are
and voters) not representative of views
-parties who account for wider population likely to gain
larger vote share
-82.4% of the public feel represented by labour and
conservative -2019
-unlike minority parties who often represent single
causes and issues then become irrelevant and lose
support
3.2 Referendums are an advantage for the UK’s democracy. HFDYA
3.2 Referendums cause more problems than they solve. HFDYA
3.2 Referendums should be used more. HFDYA
REFERENDUMS ARE GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY = NO
PARTICIPATION HIGH SCOTISH PARTICATOON W 16-17 and 75% of them
registered to vote VOTING AND 84%
Key constitutional issues of right and education
Alex salmond = ‘the scot ref was the vote of a generation’
TURNOUT
minority parties find it harder to break through threshold
Large proportion of voters almspot 50% are represented
by MPs they did not vote for
Parties with concentrated support do well - unfair to
smaller parties depriving them of realistic chance of
winning seats - 2019 - took over 800k votes per seat to
elect a Green Party MP , only took 38k to elect a
conservative MP
/2015 UKIP won 3.8 million votes in this election but. only
got 1 single seat - had national support but didn't get
constituency level
Due to discrepancies between votes and seats - partisan
representation - unlikely - fptp less likely than any other
system to generate a parliament that is demographically
reflective of the country at large - only 52 BAME
RESULT ITSELF NOT GOOD
STILL 2022 ARGUMENTS TO LEAVE, denies
another ref by supreme court - only when govt
wishes provide
STV :
-more likely that minority groups will be elected - candidates don't
need a majority of the votes to be elected just a known quota -
allowing minority viewpoints to be represented -64.8% happy with
results of NI 2017 election
Voters have a number of representatives - they can approach
following the elections meaning they are likely to have someone
who shares their ideological viewpoint
-more incentive to put up team of candidates who reflect the
diversity of society
AMS - more representative - parties have incentives to put equal
numbers of men and women on their top up lists -
40% of welsh National Assembly female members
AMS allows for a direct relationship between electors and their
constituency representative
Greater representation
2016 - Cons only got 22% of constituency votes in 2016 - SNP got
46%
AV REF 2011 SMALL TURNOUT
Lowest turnout 42% → ref was result of agreement
between lib dems and con in coalition, change FPTP
is still in lib dem manifesto
 Also given lessons on politics - education Create divide, ref happen as result of pressure
from SNP which has not stopped but continues
Result 55% no independence to destructive erosion of UK
44% yes independence
LEGITIMACY BREXIT ADVISORY, remain parl sov ISSUES stormont after ref so temporary and not
MP dominic grieve ‘eu ref was an advisory ref’ long term also legitimacy of eu ref is questioned
CONSENT HIGH TURNOUT 72% bc of ALLEGATIONS OF LIES AND
Followed as sid leave 51% v remain 48% SCAREMONGERING ON BOTH SIDES = ref and
electoral commision, fined leave campaign for
breaking electoral law
1998 good friday = 81% turnout and 71% said yes approve good - exceeding statutory limit spending of 7 million
friday agreement Birklands model should act as delegates do
LEGITIMACY OVER DECISION everything constituents want they have
autonomy
As ref given as tory had fear they would lose
voters to ukip and even w answer of leave there
was still division and understanding on a soft or
hard brexit so show refs not very effective
Wales 2011 primary legislative power only 35%
turnout
→ undermines legitimacy or decision and
effectiveness of direct democracy
Only high participation on issues of big constitutional
change and even then result so divided that ref still
fails alleviate tensions but creates more division
Legitimacy is questioned as public misunderstood
issue of brexit by media painted as a immigration
issue
VOTER google search next day was WHAT IS EU
next day AFTER the vote
Also fact check twitter change
→ false info so Q legitimacy of ref as public largely
uneducated due to false info
Undermined representative democracy as people
had signed petitions 6mil to stop trigger article 50
and also 4million signatures on e petition for a
second eu referendum = as results lacked legitimacy
since voters fed w lies and misinformed
CREATE TRUST DEFICIT w govt and undermines rep
democracy as rep more educated and their job to act
on behalf constituents as pet brands model