Evidence of a 2 party system

• Evidence of a two-party system

  • First-past-the-post (FPTP) ensures that only two parties, Labour and Conservative, have a realistic chance of winning the general election
  • FPTP ensures the two-party system is maintained in terms of how votes are converted into seats
• In 2017, the Labour and Conservative parties won 580 of the 650 seats (89%)
• In 2019, they won 568 of the 650 seats (87%)
• While it is easier to make the case for a two-party system in Westminster, especially in terms of votes and seats, the picture elsewhere is far more complex
• counter arguments

  • The SNP controls the Scottish government
  • Labour formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in Wales after the 2016 Welsh Assembly elections
  • Northern Ireland has its own parties that make up the Northern Irish Assembly, including Sinn Fein and the DUP