June 2011: Electoral Systems

June 2011: Electoral Systems

1. Distinguish between a mandate and a manifesto.

   • A manifesto is a document published by a political party in the run up to an election. It outlines, in more or less detail, the policies the party would implement if elected to power.
   • A mandate is an instruction or command that gives authority to a person or body to act in a particular way. A popular or electoral mandate gives a party that has won an election, in the sense of winning majority control of the legislature, the authority to carry out its ‘promises’, although there may be differences between a policy mandates and the broader idea of a ‘mandate to govern’.

2. Explain the workings of three electoral systems used in the UK.

   • FPTP
     • First past the post (FPTP) is used for Westminster elections.
     • This is a simple plurality system where the winner requires only a plurality of votes in a single member constituency, each voter having only one vote.
   • Regional List
     • For the European Parliament the UK uses the closed party list.
     • Here the UK is split into regions and parties place names on a list and are allocated seats in terms of the % of vote they receive.
   • SV
     • The system of the Supplementary Vote (SV) is used for elections for the elected mayor in London.
     • The voter has two preferences and can select two candidates in order of preference. On the first count if one person has got 50% of the vote they are declared the victor.
     • If no candidate secure 50% then second preferences are taken into account and the winner is the first to reach the 50% level when their second preferences are allocated.

3. Should the Westminster electoral system be reformed?

   • For
     • Poor votes to seats ratio, small parties such as the Liberal Democrats get an unfair return form the number of votes they receive
     • Fewer than one third of MPs get 50% of the vote in their constituencies
     • The current system gives poor social representation under other electoral systems this improves
     • Governments unfairly claim legitimacy when in fact they often only have got about one third of the vote
     • Under this system few seats actually change hands and the election is won and lost in 20% of the seats contested
   • Against
     • It keeps out extremist parties who may get a foothold and credibility if other systems were used
     • The recent result of the national referendum proves that there is little public support for the current system to be changed
     • The current system provides a constituency with an MP and this is an important link in representative democracy which may be lost if PR systems were to be used.
     • It delivers strong and stable government.
     • It allows mandate democracy to operate – voters get what they vote for.