Electoral Systems

• What are the 4 types of electoral systems and What do they mean?

  - plurality: most votes, not majority

  - majoritarian: need absolute majority

  - proportional: allocates seats in proportion to votes cast

  - hybrid: mixes two systems e.g. plurality & proportional
• What system is FPTP and where is it used?

  - plurality

  - used in General elections
• What system is AMS and where is it used?

  - hybrid system of FPTP and STV

  - used in scottish parliament elections and Welsh Senedd
• What system is STV and where is it used?

  - proportional

  - used in Northern Ireland Assembly
• How many seats in 2015 vs 2019 were won with an absolute majority?

  2015: 319 seats

  2019: 421 seats
• How many seats in 2015 vs 2019 were won with less than 40% of the vote?

  2015: 50 seats

  2019: 22 seats
• in What constituency was the winner elected with just 43% of the overall electorate in 2019?

  What was the turnout?

  - Arundell and South Downs

  - 75% turnout overall
• in What constituency was the winner elected with just 28% of the overall electorate in 2019?

  What was the turnout?

  - Lanark and Hamilton East

  - 68% turnout
• What are 4 advantages of FPTP?

  - close link b/w constituents and MPs

  - makes it harder for extremist parties to get elected

  - quick, simple and easy to use

  - provides an outright winner w/ a majority to form a govt
• What are 4 disadvantages of FPTP

  - favours concentrated support and disadvantages dispersed support

  - could favour larger parties

  - no majoritarian govt in 2010, 2015 and 2017

  - winner's bonus
• What is the 'winner's bonus' + example of this from 2019

  - when the biggest party wins more seats than their vote share

  - In 2019, Tories won 56% of the seats with just 43% of the votes
• How did the SNP benefit from concentrated support in 2019?

  3.9% of the vote = 48 seats
• How were the Lib Dems disadvantaged due to their dispersed support in 2019?

  11.5% of the vote = 11 seats
• How many safe seats were there in 2019?

  316 safe seats in 2019
• How many marginal seats were there in 2019?

  141 marginal seats in 2019
• How many votes on average did the Greens need to win a seat in the 2019 GE?

  866,000
• How many votes on average did the Lib Dems need to win a seat in the 2019 GE?

  336,000
• How many votes on average did the SNP need to win a seat in the 2019 GE?

  25,000
• 4 disadvantages of safe seats

  - wasted votes: 70% in 2019

  - MPs are held less to account

  - parties pay little attention to them

  - their votes are worth less/ less impactful
• What % of people voted for the conservatives vs didn't in their 2015 GE win?

  37% of people actively voted for them
• How many votes did UKIP get in 2015 vs seats?

  3.8 Million votes = 1 seat
• What percent of overall votes did Labour win in 2005 to have a 66 seat majority?

  35% of seats
• 4 implications of marginal seats

  - parties put more effort

  - their votes are worth more/ more impactful

  - individual candidates matter more than just the party

  - could result in tactical voting
• How is AMS used in scotland?

  73 elected through FPTP and 56 elected from the party list
• How is AMS used in wales?

  40 elected through FPTP and 20 elected from the party list
• How does the AMS system work to ensure fairness?

  parties that do worse in constituency list votes are adjusted upwards proportionally to win more seats in the party list
• 4 advantages of AMS

  - 2 votes: more choice

  - preserves constituency representation

  - broadly proportional and fair

  - SNP won 48 seats from 45% of the votes in scottish parliament election

  - helps smaller parties that don't win constituency seats
• 3 disadvantages of AMS

  - creates 2 classes of representatives w/ the party list reps being more senior

  - more complex than FPTP

  - 100,000 ballot papers wasted in 2007 due to confusion

  - does not produce a majority govt

  - in 2021, Wales had minority govt & Scotland had a coalition b/w SNP & Scottish Greens
• Where is STV used in the UK?

  Northern Ireland - produces mix of unionists and nationalists
• How can we see the proportionality of STV in the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in 2016?

  DUP - 2 candidates & 2 elected

  Sinn Fein - 4 candidates & 2 elected

  SDLP - 1 candidate & 1 elected

  Ulster Unionists - 2 candidates & 1 elected
• What was the DUP's proportion of 1st preference votes vs seats gained in 2017?

  28% of the votes = 28 seats
• What was the SDLP's proportion of 1st preference votes vs seats gained in 2017?

  27.9% of the votes = 27 seats
• 4 advantages of STV

  - proportional

  - wide scope of choice

  - helps smaller parties & independents get elected

  - 6 representatives elected
• 4 disadvantages of STV

  - can help extremists get elected

  - too complex

  - counting is long and complicated

  - unclear lines of accountability as there are 6 reps elected
• When was there an attempt to reform the electoral system and What was the outcome?

  - 2011 AV referendum

  - 68% said no