From 1979 to 2010, FPTP

In 2005, Labour won a Single-party governments with

The ballot paper in FPTP is FPTP makes it difficult for contributed to long periods of one-
parliamentary majority with 35% good majorities can enact their
simple as electors vote once and extremist parties to win seats at party rule (Tory then Labour)
of the UK vote. Not since 1935 manifesto promises and act
for one candidate only. Westminster. without them winning majority
has one party won >50%. decisively in times of crisis.
support.

In 1997, tactical voting cost the

Conservatives some 50 seats as
Labour voters switched to Lib
Dems in some seats in order to
beat the Conservatives.
Many votes are wasted because Constituency MPs arguably Counting the votes in FPTP is
Voters are given a clear choice
they do not help to elect an MP, increased in legitimacy in 2017. straightforward and quick –
between the governing party and
e.g. any vote for a losing MP Small parties’ support collapsed, someone new can be in Downing
the main opposition party.
(50% of all votes cast in 2015). & 73% of MPs won a majority. Street the next day.

The number of seats does not In only one of the last four The Conservatives won 34% of
The number of marginal seats has
FPTP creates electoral ‘deserts’: reflect the share of the vote elections (2019) has a strong the vote in north-east England in
declined (until 2017), meaning
parts of the country where a party achieved. The two main parties majority been returned. This is not 2017, but 10% of seats. Labour
fewer seats changed hands at
has little or no representation. tend to be given a ‘bonus’, and the sort of stable government won 28% of votes in the south-
general elections.
others are underrepresented. FPTP tries to make. east, but 10% of seats.

FPTP no longer consistently The Conservatives perform more

FPTP normally produces a clear Voters are denied choice because
winner, with the party securing the
most votes normally gaining a
majority of seats.
Despite there being ‘one person,
one vote’, disparities in
constituency size (for now) mean ‘bonus’ of seats, FPTP produces
that votes have different values.
A party can form a majority
government having won only 35%
of the vote.
Voters whose favoured party is
unlikely to win may tactically vote.
This is when a vote is case for the
candidate best placed to prevent
a party from winning a seat.
produces strong single-party strongly in southern and rural
In 1951 and Feb 1974, the party
only one candidate stands for government. The Lib Dems England; Labour does better in
who won fewer votes won more
each party: they cannot choose received 23% of the vote in 2010, northern England and in Wales.
seats than its opponent.
between candidates from a party. and in both 2015 & 2017 no However, in 2019 the Tories
single-party majority was gained. made gains in Labour areas.
In 2015, UKIP came second in
FPTP is out of date in a multi-
120 constituencies, securing
By favouring the major parties party country. The SNP, UKIP Single-member constituencies
nearly 4m votes. They only had
and giving the winning party a and Greens recorded their best provide a clear MP-voter link, with
one MP, whilst the SNP won 50%
ever performances in 2015 (but one MP representing the interests
of the vote & 95% of seats in
strong governments. two-party vote went back up to of an area.
Scotland with more concentrated
82% in 2017, 75.8% in 2019).
support geographically.
In the 1960s and 1970s, some
Victorious candidates do not need said FPTP caused adversarial Many votes are wasted because
Voters are familiar with the
a majority of votes. In 2010, a politics, as small shifts in voting they do not help to elect an MP,
current system and view it as
record 2/3 MPs did not achieve a led to frequent changes of govt. & e.g. any for an MP who’s already
legitimate.
majority due to low turnout. instability as parties overturned won (24% of votes in 2015).
their rivals’ policies.
It is now harder for a party to win a majority (which is supposed to be Parties other than Labour &
Many constituencies are safe
a strength of FPTP) due to regional differences in party support. In Tories are winning seats in the
seats in which one party has such
2015 & 2017, different parties topped the poll in each UK nation. The Commons (SNP 56 in 2015, and
a lead over its rivals that other
Conservatives won the most votes in England, Labour in Wales, the other parties had 70 even in
parties’ supporters have little
SNP in Scotland and the DUP in Northern Ireland. This also happened 2017), so the system no longer
chance of seeing their party win.
in 2019 despite the strong Conservative majority that resulted. ensures strong government.