Chapter 7 – Elections and
Referendums
Majoritarian Electoral System = Electoral System where the candidate with the highest
number of votes in each constituency is elected (e.g., FPTP)
‘Winner takes all’ system – only the winner gets rewarded
Proportional Electoral System =Electoral System that calculates number of elected
representatives by the actual number of votes they receive (e.g., List PR)
Representative Democracy = System of Democracy where people vote for elected
representatives
Suffrage = The Right to Vote
Participation = Various ways in which people can get involved with the political process
Voting Behaviour = Analysis of why people vote the way they do 0 voters are placed into
categories to allow comparison
Manifesto = Set of policies a political party promises to implement once elected to office
Campaign = Working in an organised way towards a political goal
Referendums = A direct vote on a policy measure
, Electoral Systems
Proportionality and a fair result
FPTP (Majoritarian and Pluralist)
The number of seats won does not directly reflect the proportion of votes cast for each party
- e.g., 2019 Conservatives won 77 more seats than their vote proportion
- Parties like Green/Brexit were significantly underrepresented
2019 = Greens won 2.7% of the vote but only 1 MP, and Brexit Party won 600,000 votes
but no MPs
- 1951 and February 1974 = party who won the popular vote did not win the most seats
Exaggerates performance of the winning party
- 1997 = Labour won 63% of the seats with just 43% of the vote
At least a system like AV (which is arguably less proportional than FPTP) ensures that every
winning candidate has either direct/indirect support of the majority of voters
- 2019 GE = 229 out of 650 MPs were elected with less than 50% of the vote
List PR (Proportional)
Number of seats reflects actual vote share of the parties
- 2019 European Election = Brexit Party won 39% of the vote and 40% of the seats in South
East England
Promoting Participation and Turnout
FPTP
Discourages participation as is disincentivises supporters of smaller parties to turn out and vote
due to their vote becoming wasted
- 2019 = Brexit party won almost 650,000 votes but no MPs
- Although GE turnouts ≠ steady decline
2010 GE turnout = 61%, whereas 2019 GE turnout = 67%
Many other factors affect voter turnout more than the concept of FPTP, such as the issues
and personalities
Proportional Systems – List PR
Turnout for European Elections = historically low in comparison to General Elections
- 2019 = turnout was just under 40%
though this says more about wider public interest and perceptions of European elections
rather than the Electoral System used
Hybrid System – AMS
No clear evidence either way
- Welsh turnout in the 2019 GE (FPTP) = around 67%
- Welsh turnout in the 2016 Devolved Assembly Election (AMS) = 45%
- Reflects differing importance attached to each election
Strong and Accountable Government
FPTP
Produces clear and decisive results, enabling one party with a strong majority to govern
Referendums
Majoritarian Electoral System = Electoral System where the candidate with the highest
number of votes in each constituency is elected (e.g., FPTP)
‘Winner takes all’ system – only the winner gets rewarded
Proportional Electoral System =Electoral System that calculates number of elected
representatives by the actual number of votes they receive (e.g., List PR)
Representative Democracy = System of Democracy where people vote for elected
representatives
Suffrage = The Right to Vote
Participation = Various ways in which people can get involved with the political process
Voting Behaviour = Analysis of why people vote the way they do 0 voters are placed into
categories to allow comparison
Manifesto = Set of policies a political party promises to implement once elected to office
Campaign = Working in an organised way towards a political goal
Referendums = A direct vote on a policy measure
, Electoral Systems
Proportionality and a fair result
FPTP (Majoritarian and Pluralist)
The number of seats won does not directly reflect the proportion of votes cast for each party
- e.g., 2019 Conservatives won 77 more seats than their vote proportion
- Parties like Green/Brexit were significantly underrepresented
2019 = Greens won 2.7% of the vote but only 1 MP, and Brexit Party won 600,000 votes
but no MPs
- 1951 and February 1974 = party who won the popular vote did not win the most seats
Exaggerates performance of the winning party
- 1997 = Labour won 63% of the seats with just 43% of the vote
At least a system like AV (which is arguably less proportional than FPTP) ensures that every
winning candidate has either direct/indirect support of the majority of voters
- 2019 GE = 229 out of 650 MPs were elected with less than 50% of the vote
List PR (Proportional)
Number of seats reflects actual vote share of the parties
- 2019 European Election = Brexit Party won 39% of the vote and 40% of the seats in South
East England
Promoting Participation and Turnout
FPTP
Discourages participation as is disincentivises supporters of smaller parties to turn out and vote
due to their vote becoming wasted
- 2019 = Brexit party won almost 650,000 votes but no MPs
- Although GE turnouts ≠ steady decline
2010 GE turnout = 61%, whereas 2019 GE turnout = 67%
Many other factors affect voter turnout more than the concept of FPTP, such as the issues
and personalities
Proportional Systems – List PR
Turnout for European Elections = historically low in comparison to General Elections
- 2019 = turnout was just under 40%
though this says more about wider public interest and perceptions of European elections
rather than the Electoral System used
Hybrid System – AMS
No clear evidence either way
- Welsh turnout in the 2019 GE (FPTP) = around 67%
- Welsh turnout in the 2016 Devolved Assembly Election (AMS) = 45%
- Reflects differing importance attached to each election
Strong and Accountable Government
FPTP
Produces clear and decisive results, enabling one party with a strong majority to govern
