Unrepresentative party activists deciding who goes on the list
Complex method of allocating seats
with a longer waiting time for results
could lead to voting confusion
Proportional rep gives areas more
than one representative (may lead
to constituent confusion over
constituency MP and regional MP)
thus weakening the MP-Constituent
link
Coalition governments may be less stable than a majority govt. -
if the government disagrees/remains divided it could fall or
suffer from government deadlock.
Can lead to smaller parties holding the
balance of power between two larger parties
Extremists have a better chance of
gaining seats than under FPTP
Accountability may be lost in a coalition where the smaller party
is dictating however it is the larger party taking the
responsibility.
At least one effective vote meaning less wasted votes
Extends voter choice
Number of votes a party manages to gain is
reflected in the amount of seats they are
allocated.
Eliminates safe seats and could thus reduce voter apathy
Avoids phenomenon of marginal seats deciding the election result.
Smaller parties can gain better representation
Coalitions are more likely and two parties
may be more representative than one.
Used in Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and greater London assembly
Voters select the candidate they would like to represent their constituency (FPTP) and PR where voters elect candidates from several parties to
represent them at a regional level