1. Explore the significance of the British and American first-past-the-post election system with special reference to its effect on the party system in each country. How does it limit the development of third parties? Why have the Liberal Democrats been successful in joining the government despite the strong limits on representation that the electoral system provides?
Britain and America are quite commonly known as first world countries (highly developed countries) and they are known to be the most powerful countries in the world. Britain and America practice the same type of electoral system that is first past the post. Their political system is large and intense mainly due to the size of the countries. As mention in the book Introduction to comparative politics: poltical challenges and changing agenda( fifth edition) ,Britain have a democratic parliamentary government headed by a Monarch and Prime minister and on the other hand the US (America) has a Presidential system and a Federal government with power share between the National government and fifty (50) states government. Both America and Britain have a bicameral system.
In Britain, the Heads of state and Heads of Government are different in the role they play in that the monarch (which is the queen) and also the Head of state is responsible for mainly ceremonial duties, the Prime minister (Head of government) looks after the day to day affairs of the government. Any decision that is made needs the queen approval. In America, the president carries out both the duties of the Head of State as well as the Head of Government. America has a written constitution whereas Britain doesn’t have any rather they have a set of laws and principle that deal with regulating the populace and running the government. America has a Congress with a Senate and a House of Representative that are separate from the Executive and Judicial branch of government. The three branches of government in America act as checks and balance. Both House and Senate powers are outlined in the constitution. The British has a parliament with Upper House of Lords and the lower House of Commons. Member of the House of Commons are elected by constituencies and the leader of the dominant party in the common is appointed by the queen to be Prime minister. Britain has no supreme court, the House of Lords act the final court of approval.
As I have mention earlier that the United Kingdom (Britain) has the same electoral system as America. First pass the post is a known plurality electoral system in which the winning candidate only need most votes to win or if he or she have one extra vote than the other he or she will win. A normal quote for first past the post is “winner takes all”. First past the post is a cheaper way to hold elections as oppose to proportional representation and it is also faster. The speed of the process allows for a government to take over power swiftly or if the incumbent government wins the election it allows swift return for the continuation of government without any disruption to the political life of the nation. First past the post originated out of Europe mostly speaking of Britain, in order to create a stable government and to avoid corruption. Parliament in Britain has a maximum of five years.
As mention in the book Introduction to comparative politics: poltical challenges and changing agenda( fifth edition),in 2005 election the labor party in Britain won 355 seat but got minority vote and the liberal party got 62 seat but got a majority of vote. In this case liberal party won even though they did not secure enough seats. Even though British uses first past the post to create a stable single government, question always arise about their representation and fairness. First past the post limits third party due to the voting system. In addition party and electoral system in Britain have contributed to the creation of parliament in which mostly seems to be dominated by white. Only recently in Britain non-white are MP. Just like in America women as well as non-white could not get the opportunity to vote but as time progress women as well as people from different ethnicity got an opportunity to vote.
During the 19th century African American and women allowed to vote but since the bill of right came, they had more liberty to vote. Democrats and republicans are the two leading parties in America (they are also other parties). Democrats had been a political party since the early 1900s and the Republicans in the late 1900s. The Republicans’ today as mention in the book Introduction to comparative politics: political challenges and changing agenda( fifth edition) depends on coalition to win and mostly people from the upper class (rich people). Democrats depend on votes from mostly elder people, the poor and also racial and ethnic minority. Presidential election in the US is held every four year. Senate every six year and house of representative every two year but all most have fix term whereas Britain election doesn’t have a fix term. Small parties and other parties which are often know to be third often fail to compete because of the geography of America.
In America when you vote for a mayor, senator, a member of the House of Representatives, a judge, etc. you are voting directly for that person. However, when you vote for president, you are really voting for an elector who has pledged to represent that candidate. The electors chosen by each state are called the Electoral College. They are a group of people who officially elect the president and vice president. Each state has as many votes in the Electoral College as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives. To be elected, a presidential candidate must put together enough states in the election to get a majority (more than half of the total) of the Electoral College. Over the years the Republican Party mostly win the election but in 2008 for the first time in America an African American won the election. Barack Obama 365 votes for his party the democrat whereas Mc Cain secure only 173 clearly showing that the democrats have won. As we have known the America as well as Britain have always been dominated by two parties and other parties (known as third parties) seems to be lost in the race normally why some parties are dominated is because of its history, influence and also the way how they bring forward policy to the nation. As mention by Kristina Nwazota in Third Parties in the U.S. Political Process they are also successful third parties in America. For example, in 1992, Texas billionaire Ross Perot who ran for presidency receive 19% of votes because of his advocacy on reducing federal budget deficits.
It can be noted that most times third party bring out issues that have been neglected or that is being purposely excluded from national debate because neither party that is dominant wants to face political criticism. Third parties often focus on one issue and that can lead to less popularity among voters. The most significant obstacle facing third party is winner takes all system. In most countries the presidential candidate with the highest votes gets all the state electoral vote. There is no second place in first past the post just one chance.
Third party also faces issues that is when they are rules that dictate who can enter presidential debate. Some small parties because of the expense often back out of the election. Most people or citizen prefer to vote for the most dominant party as oppose to smaller parties. In Britain third party look to mostly it history which the other dominant party don’t really bring up. Liberal democrat especially in the US have been successful in forming the government despite a lot of criticism faced. Liberal democrat look into the problems of poor people in America and also issues such as immigration as well as racial discrimination that is why many time they have been successful during election. Republican don’t really look into that issue, they don’t support immigration and hardly any issue on racial discrimination. In Britain the liberal democrat are the successors to two great reformist traditions in the Britain politics those of liberalism and social democracy which became separated from each other in the early part of the 20th century.

As mention in the United Kingdom history The liberal democrat party of Britain was similar to American liberal Democratic Party in that both parties try to look into the need of people especially the poor.
The Liberal Party came together on 6 June 1859. The Liberals governed Britain for most of the following thirty years, benefiting from further extensions of the franchise in 1867 and 1885.
The First World War brought the Liberal ascendancy to an end. The disastrous split in 1916 over the direction of the war caused a separation in the Liberal Party.
The party Revival started with the election of Jo Grimond as party leader in 1956. In 1958, the Liberal Party won its first by-election for thirty years; one reason for the revival in Liberal fortunes was the development of community politics, in which Liberal activists campaigned intensively to empower local communities.
The Liberal Democrats entered the 2010 election with a programme based on fairness, including redistributive taxation, a ‘pupil premium’ to improve school education for children from poorer families, an economic stimulus package focused on low-carbon investments, and a far-reaching programme of political and constitutional reform. After a dramatic campaign, featuring the country’s first-ever television debates between the three main party leaders, and wild swings in the opinion polls, the Liberal Democrats ended with a small increase in their total vote, to 23 per cent, but the vagaries of the electoral system delivered a net loss of six seats. In a reverse of the previous three elections’ results, the Liberal Democrat vote was rather less concentrated around the country, rising in many places where the party could not possibly win.
Nevertheless, the fact that the result was a hung parliament gave the Liberal Democrats their first real chance of power, and negotiations for a coalition began with both Conservative and Labour parties. In the end a coalition programme was agreed that contained a substantial portion of the Liberal Democrat manifesto.
The recovery of the Liberal Party, and its successors, from the period after the Second World War, when it nearly disappeared altogether, is one of the most remarkable stories in British politics. Entry into government in 2010 has given the party the chance to put Liberal principles into practice.