Electoral systems

• The first referendum in the UK was held in 1970.
• There are majoritarian electoral systems, proportional electoral systems, plurality electoral systems and mixed electoral systems.
• The condition of the proposed coalition government between the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats was the 2011 referendum on whether to replace First-Past-the-Post with Alternative Voting.
• An electoral system is a method used to translate votes cast into governmental seats.
• In the UK, first past the post is the most widely used electoral system, but there is also the use of the additional member system, the single transferable vote and the supplementary vote depending on the election in question.
• Safe seats are seats that have historically been won by a single party and often by a large margin, meaning the party who wins doesn't often change.
• First Past The Post (FPTP), usually abbreviated to FPTP, is the system that is used to elect Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in a general election.
• Mixed electoral systems are electoral systems that use a mixture of the aforementioned electoral systems (majoritarian, proportional, and plurality systems) to determine election outcomes.
• Electoral systems are the way in which members are elected to positions in these legislative bodies.
• Plurality electoral systems are electoral systems where the elected representative is the candidate that receives the most votes.
• Majoritarian electoral systems are electoral systems in which there is a majority required to win, so essentially the individual elected receives over half of the votes.
• The electoral systems used in the different Parliaments and Assemblies across the UK differ to some degree, and therefore there are four types of electoral systems that we witness across the UK.
• FPTP is also referred to as 'winner takes all' as the candidate needs only as little as one more vote than the other candidates to become MP.
• FPTP often creates safe seats and marginal seats.
• Proportional representation electoral systems are electoral systems in which the votes a party receives are used to allocate seats proportionally.
• Marginal seats are seats that are won by only a tiny margin of vote, usually 10% or less, and change hands often.
• FPTP is a straightforward voting systems which makes it easy for voters to understand, it also produces a clear outcome with little ambiguity over results.
• Alongside the House of Commons in Westminster, there is also the Scottish parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
• STV produces proportional outcomes and provides a wider array of choice for voters.
• (in STV) If no candidates meet the quota, the candidate with the fewest votes is taken out of the race and their votes are transferred to whoever is left in order of preference.
• A referendum was held in 2011 where the public were able to vote on whether there should be reform to the election system regarding the use of FPTP.
• The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is used in the Northern Ireland Parliament and local elections in Scotland.
• The outcome of the referendum was that there was, in fact, public support for FPTP and no reform was desired at present.
• STV is used within multi-member constituencies, (constituencies where more than one person is to be elected).
• The question whether the voting system should be reformed is a popular one, particularly among those who analyse electoral systems within the UK, but fundamentally the use of FPTP has public support.
• In the UK, despite the existence of other political parties, the general election will almost always be a matter of whether the Labour Party or the Conservative party will be in power.
• (In SV) This ensures the winner receives a majority (more over 50% of the vote) and is therefore the winner.
• (in STV) There is a certain number of votes that are to be achieved if a candidate is to be elected.
• (in STV) If first preference candidates meet this quota they are elected and any extra votes above the quota are transferred to the second preference candidate who is elected when they meet the quota.
• The Supplementary Vote (SV) is a majoritarian system which is used to elect mayors and police commissioners.
• In the SV systems, voters select a first and second preference (the second preference is optional).
• (in SV) If a candidate wins a majority of the first preference they are elected, however, if no candidate wins the first preference majority then all the candidates bar the top two candidates are removed from the vote.
• In STV systems, voters rank the candidates in order of preference.
• (In SV) The second preference votes cast for the removed candidates are then added to the votes the top two candidates received in order to decide on the winner.
• The use of STV, which is a proportional electoral system also usually produces a government in which the parties present gained a majority of the vote.
• The disadvantages of the FPTP system are that candidates are not required to have a majority to win, and it really only favours the largest parties, which has served to create a two-party system.
• Arguments for the advantages of the Supplementary Vote system are that if used in wider electoral systems such as general elections the voter would be given the ability to vote for smaller parties yet still contribute to decided which of the two bigger parties will win, and as the winner requires a majority the system encourages candidates to achieve a wider array of support unlike FPTP.
• The Supplementary Vote (SV) is a straightforward majoritarian system which is used to elect mayors and police commissioners, where voters order their preference.
• The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is used in the Northern Ireland Parliament and local elections in Scotland.
• The purpose of the Additional Member System (AMS) is to translate the votes cast by the population into seats within government.