...FPTP is no longer an appropriate electoral system for the British General Election. Discuss. (25 marks) First Past the Post is the current electoral system used in general elections in the UK, whereby elections are split in to constituencies, and within these areas, constituents vote for an MP to represent them in Westminster. There is an ongoing debate as to whether this system is legitimately and democratically correct, and whether it serves purely the interests of the larger parties and reproduces a two party system, rather than accounting for the minorities. It is suggested that FPTP creates voter apathy, over exaggerates votes for larger parties and excludes minorities, although, all of these arguments can be countered to some extent. In my opinion, general elections are an opportunity to ensure the will of the people is reflected in the government of the day and FPTP does not serve this purpose because it simply follows the tyranny of the majority. Firstly, FPTP encourages voter apathy, which is becoming a pressing issue in British politics, it does this because once a majority is formed in a constituency and the MP is officially elected- the rest of the votes are binned. This creates a disincentive to vote, perhaps because people voting for minority parties do not see the point and regard it as a waste of time, or out of disrespect for the system. Apathy was evidenced in the 2015 election, which had a turnout of 66.6%, a measly percentage compared to the Scottish Independence...
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...in their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kinds of people, wherever they are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150 years, and by working across 70 countries, in 100 languages, we have built an international reputation for raising achievement through innovation in education. Find out more about how we can help you and your students at: www.pearson.com/uk January 2012 Publications Code US030541 All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Ltd 2012 No.1a How does a referendum differ from an election? Indicative content (The following does not exhaust relevant points or appropriate knowledge) Referendums and elections can be seen as different political mechanisms, below are some of these differences: • • • • • A referendums does not secure representation of officials whereas elections provide a mechanism to place...
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...TO WHICH EXTENT DOES PARTY-LIST PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION PROVIDE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF MINORITIES IN BENIN, GUINEA-BISSAU AND NAMIBIA? Pavel Pylypcuk, Alexandra Sidorova Aalborg University 2014 Table of contents 1. Introduction 3 I. PART 5 2. Electoral system 5 2.1. Types of electoral system 6 2.2. Proportional representation 6 2.3. Party-list proportional representation 7 II. PART 8 3. Structure of case studies 8 4. Benin 9 4.1. Historical introduction and the electoral system 9 4.2. Elections to National Assembly in years 1991-2007 10 4.3. Political parties in Benin: profile, electorate and interactions 11 4.4. Conclusion 12 5. Guinea-Bissau 13 5.1. Historical introduction and the electoral system 13 5.2. Elections to National People's Assembly in years 1994-2008 14 5.3. Political parties in Guinea-Bissau: profile, electorate and interactions 15 5.4. The electoral process in Guinea-Bissau 16 5.5. Conclusion 17 6. Namibia 18 6.1. Historical introduction and the electoral system 18 6.2. Elections to National Assembly in years 1989-2009 19 6.3. Political parties in Namibia: profile, electorate and interactions 20 6.4. The electoral process in Namibia 21 6.5. Conclusion 23 7. Final conclusion 24 8. Bibliography 26 1. Introduction Electoral systems are considered as an instrument, which can relatively quickly and effectively...
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...Northern Consortium United Kingdom – Politics Past paper questions for June exam < Module 1 > Section A 1a What are the differences between Public Bills Committees and Select Committees? [5] Public Bills Committee is part of legislative process, whereas Select Committee is part of scrutiny process. In the former committee, the bill is examined by line by line to ensure that its wording and language is clear to allow any amendments on the bill. In the latter committee, there are two departments – governmental and non-governmental. They examine government departments’ expeditures , policies and policies. There are between 16 to 50 members in the PBC who are selected by Committee of Selection whose 7 out 9 members are ships. On the other hand, there are 11 members in the SCs and to eliminate “the conflict of interest, all the members are backbench members who are elected using the Alternative vote system. 2a What are the main functions of Parliament and how well does it perform them? [5] < This question is a 20-mark question > 3a What are the differences between direct and representative democracy? [5] In direct democracy, people are directly involved in decision-making processes, whereas in representative democracy, people elect MPs who will represent and form a government in Parliament. For instance, some qualified members of Athenian society were involved in decision-making and a referendum is a limited form of direct democracy. Also general elections...
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...GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AS LEVEL UNIT TWO GOVERNING THE UK “Never, never, never give up” Winston S Churchill 1874-1965 1 GOVERNING THE UK 50% of AS [25% of A2] UNIT TWO SAMPLE QUESTION Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B in 80 minutes. Spend 40 minutes on Section A and 40 minutes on Section B SECTION A QUESTION ONE PRIME MINISTERIAL POWER “For too long the big political decisions in this country have been made in the wrong place. They are not made around the Cabinet table where they should be, but they are taken on the sofa in Tony Blair’s office. No notes are kept and no one takes the blame when things go wrong. That arrogant style of government must come to an end. I will restore the proper process of government. I want to be Prime Minister of this country not a President (Source: David Cameron, The Times, 5th October 2006) “The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system. Every Thursday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments as well as other ministers meet in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day. The Prime Minister chairs the meeting, selects its members and also recommends their appointment as ministers to the monarch. The present Cabinet has 23 members (21 MPs and two peers). The secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions”. (Source: From a modern textbook) (a) What...
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...Edexcel AS Politics Edexcel AS Politics ExamBuster 2009 Introduction to Unit 1- People and Politics Understanding the Examination and Exam Technique Choosing your questions In this unit you are presented with four questions. They are of equal value and each question covers one of the four sections of the specification. These are: Democracy and political participation Party policies and ideas Elections Pressure groups There is no significance to the order in which questions appear. Each question is divided into three sections (a), (b) and (c). When choosing which questions to do, the following principles are recommended: It is almost certain that you will be better off choosing your strongest question to do first. You should choose questions on the basis of how well you can answer the section (c) part. The (c) part carries 25 of the 40 marks available for the whole answer. Do not choose a question simply because you can do part (a) especially well. The (a) question is only worth 5 marks. It would be illogical to choose your strongest (a) part if you cannot do well on section (c). If you cannot decide between several (c) parts, i.e. you can do more than one equally well, make your choice on the basis of part (b) which carries 10 marks. But remember, it is the (c) parts that will determine most what your overall mark will be. So, when you first look at the exam paper, look at the (c) sections first. Assessment Objectives Each question is divided into three sections,...
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