ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

• what is plurality

  a candidate receives the most votes but doesn't get a majority
• what is majority

  when a candidate or party receives more than half of the total votes in an election
• what's the role of an electoral system

  turn votes into seats
• name a majority government

  1983 conservative gov under thatcher / 2019 conservative gov under Johnson / 1997 labour gov under Blair
• name a minority government

  2010 coalition gov between Clegg (Lib Dems) and Cameron (conservatives) / 2017 confidence and supply gov between May (conservative) and Foster (DUP)
• what's a safe seat

  constituencies that have had the same political party hold power for a long period
• give an example of a safe seat

  Walton, Liverpool since 1964
• what's a swing seat

  seat /constituency that could be won by either party
• an example of a swing seat

  Kensington, London
• 2019 how many MPs had less than 50% of their constituency vote for them

  35%
• name functions of elections

  chooses the government, holds the government to account, participation, influences new policies and representation for a constituency
• name the criteria for a good electoral system

  range of voter choice, produces a strong government, accountable government, strong link between MP and constituency, proportional representation (votes reflect seats fairly), equality of votes and simplicity
• name types of electoral system

  First past the post (FPTP), supplementary vote (SV), additional member system (AMS), alternative vote (AV) and single transferrable vote (STV)
• how does FPTP work

  constituents get 1 vote for a candidate to represent them in parliament as a MP, candidate with the most votes wins
• when is FPTP used

  general elections, local elections, mayor elections and Police and Crime commissioner elections as of 2024
• what type of system is FPTP

  simple plurality system
• name some advantages to FPTP

  its quick and simple, produces a strong stable government, strong link between MPs and constituents, exclusion of extremist parties
• name some disadvantages to FPTP

  government can be elected on less than the majority of the vote which questions legitimacy, limited voter choice as voters get 1 vote, many votes are wasted ad winners bonus (share of seats)
• what was the average election turnout between 1945 - 1997

  76%
• name an extremist party

  BNP or monster raving looney party
• give an example of FPTP not being quick

  May 2010 general election took 5 days to produce results
• what are electoral deserts

  areas of the country where parties cannot win seats
• give an example of an electoral desert

  south east England for labour
• when has FPTP produced disproportionality

  1951 - labour won more of the vote but conservatives got the majority
• how is AV different to FPTP

  candidate must have 50% to win and voters get more than one vote
• when was the AV referendum

  2011
• what was the AV referendum turnout

  42%
• how does supplementary vote work

  each voter gets two choices and the candidate with over 50% is elected automatically, if not all candidates apart from the top 2 are eliminated and the second choice votes are added
• when was sv used

  police and crime commissioner elections and metro mayor / London mayor elections
• when did the sv system change to FPTP

  may 2024
• what time of electoral system is sv

  majoritarian
• why do labour argue conservatives changed London mayor and PCC elections

  to make it easier for conservatives to win
• give some advantages to SV

  broad support for winner / its simple and quick / it allows for independent candidates to win / reduces tactical voting
• how many independent candidates were in the 2012 ppc election

  12 out of 40
• give some disadvantages to SV

  its not proportionate / helps smart voters who can identify the top two candidates
• give an issue to the electoral system for mayors and PCCs changing to FPTP

  the mayors and pCC are elected with relatively low vote shares, for the may 2nd 2024 elections vote share averaged at less than 40% for North Yorkshire and West Midlands / deters independent candidates from participating - so unlikely to win
• what was the 2017 general election turnout

  69%
• when was SV first used

  2000
• what percentage of the vote did Sadiq Khan win in 2021

  55%
• how does single transferrable vote work

  voters rank candidates and the votes are counted to see if any candidate is above the winning quota. if a candidate wins their second choices votes are distributed. if no one wins then the last place candidate is eliminated and the votes go to the voters second choice. this continues until all the seats are filled