Electoral systems case studies

• In 1983, the SDP-Liberal Alliance (now called the Liberal Democrats) received 25% of the vote but only 23 seats (4% of the total)
• In 2015, UKIP won 13% of the vote but only 1 seat (0.2% of the total)
• In 2019, the Liberal Democrats won 12% of the vote but only 11 seats (2% of the total)
• In 2001, Labour won 41% of the vote and 63% of the seats
• In 2015, the SNP won 4% of the vote and 9% of the seats
• In 2019, the Conservatives won 43% of the vote and 55% of the seats
• First-Past-the-Post has failed to produce majorities in 1974, 2010, and 2017
• Every government since 1922 has been led by the Conservatives or Labour
• The 2010-2015 Conservative-Liberal Democrat government was the first peacetime coalition in nearly a hundred years
• In Liverpool Walton in 2019, Labour won 85% of the vote. No other party has ever been elected there
• Safe seats benefit the two main parties – the 30 safest seats in 2019 were all won by the Conservatives or Labour
• In 2015, Alasdair McDonnell was elected to represent Belfast South with only 25% of the vote
• In Fermanagh and South Tyrone in 2019, Sinn Fein beat the Ulster Unionist Party by just 57 votes
• In the Scottish Parliament, 73 MSPs are elected under First-Past-the-Post to represent constituencies, and 56 MSPs are elected under Regional Party List
• In the Senedd, 40 MSs are elected under First-Past-the-Post, and 20 MSs are elected under Regional Party List
• In 2021, the SNP won 44% of the vote across the constituency and regional elections, and 49% of the seats in the Scottish Parliament
• In 2021, Plaid Cymru won 20% of the vote and 22% of seats in the Senedd
• The Greens won only 1% of the constituency vote in 2021, but 8% of regional votes, which allowed them to win 8 seats in the Scottish Parliament
• Representatives elected under First-Past-the-Post have a direct mandate from their local constituency. Whereas representatives elected under Regional Party List owe their mandate to their parties. This is problematic when regional representatives choose to switch parties: Michelle Ballantyne, who switched from the Scottish Conservatives to Reform UK in 2020; Mark Reckless, who switched his party affiliation in the Senedd four times between 2016 and 2021
• Labour has been in government in Wales since devolution began
• The SNP has been in power in Scotland since 2007
• Welsh Labour won an average of 38% of the vote across the constituency and regional elections, but managed to gain 50% of the seats in the Senedd
• 2022: Sinn Fein – 29% of the vote (30% of seats)
• 2022: Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)– 21% of the vote (28% of seats)
• 2022: Alliance Party – 14% of the vote (19% of seats)
• 2022: Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) – 11% of the vote (10% of seats)
• 2022: Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) – 9% of the vote (9% of seats)
• 2022: Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) – 8% of the vote (1 seat)
• Every Northern Irish government since devolution has been a coalition. Initially led by the UUP and the SDLP, and more recently by Sinn Fein and the DUP. Which satisfies the need for ‘power-sharing’ under the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998 And creates nuanced constituency representation
• Disagreements between coalition partners have meant that the Northern Ireland Assembly has now been suspended for over 40% of its history
• The Alliance Party’s Sinead McLaughlin won under 7% of first preference votes in Foyle in 2022, but she was still elected as an MLA
• In the 2021 London mayoral election, Sadiq Khan won 40% of first preference votes. But 55% of the total vote once second preferences had been counted
• Andy Street received 48% of the first preference votes in the 2021 West Midlands mayoral election. But 54% once second preference votes had been counted