8 electoral systems

• First Past the Post (FPTP)


  The electoral system used in UK general elections and local council elections in England and Wales
• How FPTP works

  1. Voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate in their constituency

  2. The candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins, even without a majority

  3. The party or coalition with a majority of MPs in Parliament forms the government
• FPTP


  • Simple and quick to use
  • Tends to lead to strong single-party governments
  • Excludes extremist parties due to need for geographically concentrated support
• FPTP


  Gives voters a clear choice between two main parties
• FPTP


  Can result in governments with a majority of seats but minority of votes
• FPTP

  Disadvantages smaller parties whose support is spread evenly across the country
• In 2011, a referendum on the Alternative Vote system was rejected by 68% of voters
• Scottish Parliament elections using the Additional Member System often take around 2 weeks to form a government
• Criteria to judge electoral systems

  • Voter choice
  • Representation and proportionality
  • Link between representative and represented
  • Type of government and politics
• No electoral system perfectly delivers on all criteria
• Improving one criteria


  May lead to worsening another
• Smaller parties are really disadvantaged because extremist parties struggle to do well under first-past-the-post, which requires geographically concentrated support
• If a party's support is spread evenly across the country, they are unlikely to win any constituencies under first-past-the-post
• The BNP's performance in first-past-the-post

  Contrasts with their success in more proportional systems like the European Parliament elections
• In 2022, 33 Conservative MPs rebelled against their government's position on fracking, due to local opposition in their constituencies
• Over half of MPs typically don't command a majority of support in their constituencies under first-past-the-post
• In the 2015 election, Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP won Belfast South with just 24.5% of the vote, representing only 14.7% of the electorate
• Lack of proportionality at the national level


  Votes not translated into seats with accuracy, leading to many voters feeling the system lacks legitimacy
• The winning party often enjoys a share of seats in excess of its share of the vote, due to winning marginal seats
• Disproportional outcomes in past elections

  • 2019: Conservatives won 56% of seats with 43.6% of the vote

  2005: Labour won 54.6% of seats with 35.2% of the vote

  1974 and 1951: Largest party did not win the most votes
• Smaller parties with geographically dispersed support are disadvantaged by first-past-the-post
• Smaller parties disadvantaged by first-past-the-post

  • Liberal Democrats won 11.5% of the vote but just 11 seats in 2019

  UKIP won 12.6% of the votes but just 1 seat in 2015
• The Scottish National Party (SNP) benefits from first-past-the-post due to their geographically concentrated support in Scotland
• Voter choice

  Limited under first-past-the-post, as voters can only choose between one candidate per party in each constituency
• Voters cannot choose between different factions within the main parties under first-past-the-post
• Votes for losing parties in a constituency are effectively wasted under first-past-the-post
• Tactical voting is common under first-past-the-post, with 32% of voters voting tactically in 2019
• Unequal value of votes

  Votes in safe seats have less impact than votes in marginal seats, leading to differences in turnout
• First-past-the-post has not always delivered strong single-party governments in recent decades, with coalition and minority governments occurring
• First-past-the-post has been maintained largely because it suits the interests of the two main parties who have dominated government since WWII
• The 2011 AV referendum showed public support for retaining first-past-the-post
• Additional Member System (AMS)


  Used in elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and Greater London Assembly

  Voters have two votes: one for a constituency representative elected by first-past-the-post, and one for a party

  The party list vote introduces an element of proportionality to correct the disproportionality of first-past-the-post
• Second vote where you vote for a party

  1. Corrects the first part of post element

  2. Corrects the first vote

  3. Makes the system more proportional

  4. Uses the de hunt formula

  5. Determines how many members a party should be allocated
• Party list vote


  The second vote
• De hunt formula


  • Gives parties who are underrepresented in the constituency element greater representation in the party list vote
  • Fewer list members than constituency representatives as the list ones are seen as more corrective to the overall system
• Additional or Top-Up members


  The list members
• In the Scottish Parliament there are 129 members, 73 constituency members and 56 list members
• Advantage of the Top-Up party list element

  • Introduces an element of proportionality that corrects the disproportionality of first-past-the-post
  • Leads to a very proportional system overall
• 1999 Scottish Parliament election


  • Conservative party won 0 constituency MPs despite getting 15.6% of the vote
  • They were given 18 additional member seats to correct this
• Constituency element


  • Ensures a strong MP constituency link remains
  • Voters have a wider choice than in first-past-the-post
  • Votes are less likely to be wasted