‘First Past The Post’

Sadie Adshead
FPTP Election System;
The First Past The Post election system is used here
in the UK for General and Local elections.

It is a simple and fast election process in which the

candidate with the most votes wins.

Due to the simple majority system, the candidate

which wins may not represent the majority of voters’
views.
Example……
Candidate A (Labour):       22,000 votes
Candidate B (Tory):           17,000 votes
Candidate C (Lib Dems): 13,000 votes

Though Labour has won the election, over 50%

of the voting public didn’t wish for Labour to
win.
Who can vote?
You have to be registered (a form is posted to your house, you fill it
in, send it off and you are then registered to vote. Can also register
online).

You must be a British citizen, member of the commonwealth or an

Irish citizen.

You must not be a convicted criminal serving time in prison.

Overseas electors (British citizens living abroad) may register and

vote at General elections only for a period of up to 15 years after they
have left the country. There is no entitlement to vote at local
elections.

You must be 18 years of age on the day of voting.

How we vote:-
First the individual has to register, which is made easy by
the postage system. A form is posted to your house; you
then fill it in and send it off and as a result you are then
registered to vote. You can also register online
(www.directgov.co.uk).

Once you are registered you will receive a card which you
need to take with you to the polling station in order to vote.

You will also receive a booklet detailing which candidates

are up for election and what each party represents,
including their key focus and mission.
On the Election Day you go to your polling
station, which is usually your local primary
school, town hall or local church. At the polling
station you will show your registration card to
one of the polling monitors who will then hand
you a ballot paper. On the ballot paper are the
names of the candidates and the party they
represent with boxes at the side of them. You
simply cross the box next to the name of the
candidate you want to vote for. When you have
made your decision you then post your card into
the ballot box.
How the votes are counted:-
At the end of the Election Day, which usually starts
at 7:30am and finishes at 10:00pm, the polling
monitors then open the boxes filled with ballot
papers and sort them into piles, one for each
candidate.

Once they are sorted into piles they are then

counted and recorded.

The results from each polling station are revealed

and added together to determine the candidate with
the most votes (General elections).
Only in the very rarest of cases has a re-count been ordered
due to the closeness of two specific results, but in the vast
majority of cases, FPTP allows for a clear winner.

The speed of the process usually allows for a new

government to take over power swiftly or if the current
government wins the general election, allows for a swift
return for the continuation of the previous government,
without too many disruptions to the political life of the
nation.

There is one main disadvantage that comes with the FPTP

system, which is that the government which comes into
power may not represent the choice of the majority of the
British public. In the example given earlier, the winning
candidate received 22,000 votes yet 30,000 people voted
against the candidate.
 Quick Quiz!
What does FPTP stand for?

First Past The Post

What is FPTP used for?

UK General and Local elections.

Who can vote?

Those who are registered.

British citizen’s, member of the commonwealth or
Irish citizen’s.
Overseas electors.
Individuals who are 18 years of age on the day of
voting.

How can we register?

Through the postal system or online

On the election day, what do you need to take with you
to the polling station?

Your registration card

How do you vote for the candidate of your choice?

Place a cross X in the box at the side of the candidate you

wish to vote for

Once you have made your vote what do you do with the
ballot paper?

You place the ballot paper into the ballot box

What are the advantages of the FPTP system?

What are the disadvantages of the FPTP system?

How long is it before an election is announced?

Alternative Vote (AV)
 The Alternative Vote is used to elect the majority of chairs of select committees in the
House of Commons.

 The AV is also used for the election of the Lord Speaker.

 Under AV, voters rank candidates in order of preference by marking 1, 2, 3 and so on

next to names of candidates on a ballot paper. A voter can rank as many or as few
candidates as they like or just vote for one candidate.

 Ballot papers are then counted by using the first preference votes (i.e. those with a
number 1 marked next to their name). If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of
the first preference votes then they are elected.

 If no candidate reaches this 50 per cent threshold, then the candidate with the fewest
first preference votes is eliminated. Their second preference votes are then reallocated
to the remaining candidates. If after this stage one candidate has more votes than the
other remaining candidates put together, that candidate is elected.

 If not, the process of elimination and reallocation of preference votes is repeated until

one candidate has more votes than the other remaining candidates put together, and is
then elected.