...MPs are elected in a single member constituencies. Each of the 650 constituencies in the UK elects one representative to the House of Commons. There has been a long running debate on this issue, as there are other electoral systems being currently used I the UK for other things for example the Supplementary vote used the elections of the London Mayer. People argue that one of the other electoral systems could replace the First past the Post, in May 2011 a referendum was held asking the public if they would want to change to the system to AV. This was a resounding ‘no’, which makes the question of a possible reform purely hypothetical at this moment in time. Was this because people do in fact like the FPTP system or because they dislike the AV system? The first benefit of the FPTP would be that it is very easy to understand, therefore this helps people participate as people don’t want to spend a lot of time trying to vote and figure out how to do something, especially a system such as a single transferable vote or the AV system. A valid vote requires only one mark beside the name or symbol of one...
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...Stability and production of stable governments: The FPTP offers more political stability. If stability is defined to have a majority government, made up of a single party, able to govern for a full term without too many problem. Although we have mentioned earlier that the FPTP can produce minority governments, which are unstable and often have short-time living. However, the FPTP does offer the highest probability of producing a majority in a competitive multi-party system. In the 16 federal elections held between 1965 and 2015, 10 have resulted in majority governments, even though the winning party won a majority of votes only once, in 1984 (Heard, A., 2015). Accountability: The party forming the government is fully accountable during its...
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...To what extent is First Past the Post a viable electoral system? First Past the Post, also commonly known as FPTP, is the main majoritarian system used in the UK. It has many effects, including usually resulting in a single party government, which therefore results in a strong government. The most important effect of FPTP is the election of a stable government that can stay in power for the full term, and govern effectively while also seeing decisions through. On this basis, FPTP has both positives and negatives in its nature. The first benefit that arises from the FPTP system is the certainty that it will result in a government being elected. This is because the voting is done on plurality’s, which means whichever party gets the most votes in their constituency wins. This structure of voting means that even if you get a low turnout, you will still get a government. For example, in 2001 the turnout for the general elections only reached 59.4%, but a Labour government was still elected. In order for turnout to be high, there needs to be a clear and simple electoral choice. With FPTP, there is, as there are normally only 5 parties to choose from, with only 2 being real contenders- Labour and Conservatives. Although some people might argue that a choice between 2 parties is limited, it could actually lead to tactical voting. Tactical voting is where instead of voting for your preferred party, you vote for the one which is ‘least bad’. Although it might not be their...
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...Should FPTP continue to be used for elections to the House of Commons? The first reason that FPTP should continue to be used for elections to the House of Commons is that it produces effective constituency representation because there are single member constituencies, meaning that people know which MP represents them in the House of Commons, and thus who they can take their grievances to. This is a strength because it results in a strong working link between an MP and a geographical area, thus connecting communities to central politics. For example, Greg Barker, the Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, has worked with his constituents, since he won 51.6% of the vote and was thus elected to the House of Commons in 2010, to represent their need in Parliament. For instance, in September 2014, Barker advocated for the expansion of free childcare for 2,200 two-year-olds in East Sussex, as a result of the 2006 childcare act. Moreover, due to the fact that under FPTP only one MP is elected per constituency, the public can easily hold their representative directly accountable for their actions, and consequently can vote them out of power at the next general election. For example, the labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, Oona King, lost her seat in the 2010 general election, when her predominantly Muslim constituents voted her out of power, after her support for the Iraq war. Consequently, since under PR systems the link between constituents and representatives is significantly weakened...
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...the post’ electoral system used in the UK (25 Marks) First past the post is also known as FPTP or a single member plurality system. It is used in the elections of the House of Commons, the Westminster Elections, the idea is that you simply put an X in the box next to the candidate that you support. The candidate that gets the most votes, regardless of percentage, gets a seat in the House of Commons, after all the constituents have elected their MP the party with the most seats form the government. Some argue that FPTP is unfair and inefficient to suit modern government however, in this essay I will be explaining and demonstrating as to why FPTP is efficient and should remain the UK’s electoral system. The reasons the UK should keep FPTP are; It allows voters to choose a between candidates instead of parties, it enables a strong and stable government, it determines a clear link between MP’s and their constituents, it is easier to understand, we all get 1 vote at the polling station and it eliminates the possibility of the extremist majority in the UK. Firstly, First Past the Post allows the electorate to choose between candidates instead of the parties. this enables each individual voter to establish and assess the performance, advantages and disadvantages of the individual candidates instead of just picking a party that will rule like in some other voting systems. Secondly, FPTP enables a strong and stable government it does this by exaggerating the amount of support the...
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...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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...Electoral Systems in the UK There are two main types of electoral system in the UK: First Past the Post (FPTP) & Proportional Representation (PR) First Past the Post (FPTP); FPTP is the voting system used for the election of MPs to 'seats' in the UK Parliament. It is a system in which the 'winner takes all' and usually gives a clear majority both at constituency and national level. This means that a candidate in a constituency only needs one more vote than the nearest rival to win the seat. Similarly, political parties only need to win one more seat in the House of Commons to have a majority. Advantages of FPTP; There is very little chance of extremist parties being elected to Parliament under FPTP because they are unlikely to gain enough votes in any one constituency. Generally the results of elections using FPTP can be calculated quickly. When necessary, this makes the transfer of power from one party to another much easier. The 1997 and 2001 elections were clear evidence of this. Disadvantages of FPTP; The main criticism of FPTP is that the number of votes cast for a party in general elections is not accurately reflected in the number of seats won. An example of this was the 1997 election when the Conservatives gained 18% of the vote in Scotland but not one seat. This is mirrored at constituency level, where the winning candidate may have received only one third of the votes cast. Indeed, a government may be elected on a minority vote, as...
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...Discuss the advantages for replacing the current system for electing MPs with another one. There are two main types of electoral systems in the UK. They are First Past the Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation (PR) First Past the Post is the voting system used to elect MPs to 'seats' in Parliament. In this system 'winner takes all' and the system also usually gives a clear majority both in a constituency or at national level. This means that a candidate in a constituency only needs one more vote than the nearest rival to win the seat. This is similar to political parties in general elections as they only need to win one more seat in the House of Commons to have a majority. The advantages of using FTPT is there is very little chance of extremist parties being elected to Parliament under because they are unlikely to gain enough votes to come into power in any one constituency. Also, generally the results of elections using FPTP can be calculated quickly. So, this makes it easier to transfer power to another party if it becomes necessary. One of the main criticisms of FPTP is that the number of votes for a party in general elections is not accurately shown in the number of seats won. An example of this could be the 1997 election when the Conservatives gained 18% of the vote in Scotland but not one but didn’t win a seat. This is can be seen at constituency level, where the winning candidate may have only received one third of the votes cast. So, a government could be elected...
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...the main principle behind a number of electoral systems and contrasts to the majoritarian principle, which would mean that literally, most votes wins. An example of a PR system is AMS; Additional member system; or STV; Single Transferrable vote. AMS is a hybrid system and only 1/3rd of the seats are elected via PR. This also uses the list system, in which voters choose between parties and not candidates. Highlight 3 arguments against plurality systems One disadvantage of FPTP is that the results produced can be unrepresentative of the public’s opinion. This is because parties can win and lose simultaneously due to having a higher percentage of the vote, but not gaining more or less seats than their nearest competitor. An example of this is during the 1951 elections, where labour had 48.8% of the vote and conservatives had 48%. Even though by percentage labour had one, conservatives gained 321 seats and won the election, whereas labour only got 295 seats. Another disadvantage of plurality systems and FPTP is that it discriminates against small parties. Historically, few small parties have done well under this type of system. In the 2015 general elections, UKIP needed a minimum of 3.8 million votes to gain 1 seat, whereas labour and conservatives both needed between 30,000-40,000. Another example of this is in the 1983 general elections in which labour had 2.2% more of the vote than liberal democrats but still gained 186 more seats. This is usually because smaller parties do...
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...Electoral systems There are two main types of electoral systems in the UK: First Past the Post (FPTP) Proportional Representation (PR) First Past the Post (FPTP) FPTP is the voting system used for the election of MPs to 'seats' in the UK Parliament. It is a system in which the 'winner takes all' and usually gives a clear majority both at constituency and national level. This means that a candidate in a constituency only needs one more vote than the nearest rival to win the seat. Similarly, political parties only need to win one more seat in the House of Commons to have a majority. Advantages of FPTP There is very little chance of extremist parties being elected to Parliament under FPTP because they are unlikely to gain enough votes in any one constituency. Generally the results of elections using FPTP can be calculated quickly. When necessary, this makes the transfer of power from one party to another much easier. Disadvantages of FPTP The main criticism of FPTP is that the number of votes cast for a party in general elections is not accurately reflected in the number of seats won. An example of this was the 1997 election when the Conservatives gained 18% of the vote in Scotland but not one seat. This is mirrored at constituency level, where the winning candidate may have received only one third of the votes cast. Indeed, a government may be elected on a minority vote, as happened in 1974 when Labour won the general election on the number of seats gained...
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...is a simple plurality electoral system. In order to secure victory in a constituency a candidate has to gain a minimum of a one vote advantage over the nearest rival. This system is not proportional which means that for every constituency there is only one MP representing them in Parliament. Even though the FPTP system has come under criticism, it remains as the electoral system used for Westminster and local government elections, and its advantages are the following. The FPTP system is very simple and easy to understand. The voters only have to write an “X” to indicate their choice. There is no need to rank candidates or to make more than one preference, in contrast to other more complicated systems where confusion arises. For example, there are a huge number of spoilt papers under various types of Proportional Representation as a result of voter confusion. In Scotland when STV was used there were thousands of spoilt ballot papers. However it could be argued that the advantage of ease is overrated as the electorate could be prepared enough to cope with another system as they do in other countries such as Germany or Switzerland. Speed is another lauded attribute of FPTP. We can get the results in constituencies just hours after the polls close and a verdict on who will secure the ability to govern alone before the next dawn breaks. By contrast other electoral systems can take days to calculate as votes are redistributed. In the Republic of Ireland it can take many days to...
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...Different Voting systems and Fast Past the Post advantages and Disadvantages Fast Past the Post (FPTP) voting happens in single-party supporters. Voters put a cross in a case by their favored hopeful and the applicant with the most votes in the voting public wins. All different votes mean nothing. FPTP is the second most widely used voting system in the world. First Past the Post is defended is mainly based on grounds of simplicity and its tendency to produce winners who are representatives beholden to defined geographic areas and governability. Provides a clear-cut choice for voters between two main parties. In FPTP, the flip side of a strong single-party government is that the opposition is also given enough seats to perform critical checking role and present itself as a realistic alternative to the government of the day. It advantages broadly-based political parties. The most important piece of this discussion is that majority voting with single-part regions is essentially the most noticeably awful conceivable framework, and this is a vital issue. So there are essentially no wrong responses to this inquiry. Actually, your inquiry is at the heart of "social decision hypothesis"; if an entire field of study has invested decades debating this inquiry without concurring on anything other than the way that majority is terrible, it’s difficult to determine it in one Quora answer. A piece of the issue is that it’s essentially two separate...
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...How effectively does Parliament fulfil its functions? Parliament has several functions. It debates major issues of current interest, it makes legislation, it scrutinises the executive whilst simultaneously sustaining the government, and it represents the people and redresses their grievances. In many aspects, Parliament is usually effective in fulfilling its functions, but there are occasions where it is not as diligent in doing so. Parliament’s scrutiny function is mainly carried out through four methods; Prime Minister’s Questions, Select Committees, back bench MPs and the House of Lords. Prime Minister’s Questions are a weekly opportunity for the opposition and backbenchers to scrutinise the Prime Minister and by extension the government, and to highlight government failings or simply ask a question. This is a good way of scrutinising the Prime Minister as it puts him/her under pressure to justify their actions, and answer potentially awkward questions regardless of whether they have been pre-submitted. The main weakness of this form of scrutiny is that the questions are often submitted to the Prime Minister some time before Prime Minister’s Questions, allowing him/her to come up with an answer beforehand that might let him/her to actually evade proper scrutiny within the House of Commons. Select Committees in both Houses of Parliament investigate the work of government and produce reports on policy proposals. They can call witnesses in the course of their proceedings...
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...First the past post • Representatives can get elected on tiny amounts of public support as it does not matter by how much they win, only that they get more votes than other candidates. • It encourages tactical voting, as voters vote not for the candidate they most prefer, but against the candidate they most dislike. • FPTP in effect wastes huge numbers of votes, as votes cast in a constituency for losing candidates, or for the winning candidate above the level they need to win that seat, count for nothing. • FPTP severely restricts voter choice. Parties are coalitions of many different viewpoints. If the preferred-party candidate in your constituency has views with which you don't agree, you don't have a means of saying so at the ballot box. • Rather than allocating seats in line with actual support, FPTP rewards parties with 'lumpy' support, i.e. with just enough votes to win in each particular area. Thus, losing 4,000 votes in one area can be a good idea if it means you pick up 400 votes in another. With smaller parties, this works in favour of those with centralised support. • With relatively small constituency sizes, the way boundaries are drawn can have important effects on the election result, which encourages attempts at gerrymandering • Small constituencies also lead to a proliferation of safe seats, where the same party is all but guaranteed re-election at each election. This not only in effect disenfranchises a region's voters, but it leads to these...
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...proportional and whether there should be an electoral reform for a more proportional voting system. Under first past the post, the voter puts a cross on the ballot paper, under their preferred candidate; the candidate with the majority of votes wins government. Those in favour of the FPTP system argue that it provides a strong government in that, the government of the day maintains the majority of the House of Commons, making it easier to implement and legislate laws. By contrast, other voting systems may likely force parties to form a coalition; making government appear weak and unstable because both parties seek legislative support from one another and often have ideological differences. Those in favour also claim that the FPTP system establishes a strong rapport between representatives and their constituencies, as MP’s elected look to serve the interests of the people. However, some question whether MP’s fulfil their duties and whether they represent the people or their political parties. The FPTP system has been criticised for its lack of proportionality, many argue that this system brings about a single party government and two party systems (commonly Conservative and Labour party). The main problem with FPTP is that the number of votes cast simply does not reflect the number of seats won, as seen in the 1974 General Election where the Conservative party look like favourites to win, however Edward Heath of the Labour Party ended up winning with 301 seats, 17 less than the overall...
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