How do UK General Elections work?
General elections:
- UK divided into 650 constituencies (= geographical territory w/ roughly equal no. of voters)
- Each constituency elects single MP to represent them in HoC
- Constituency boundaries drawn up by 4 commissions (first established 1944):
Boundary Commissions for England/Scotland/Wales/NI; conduct periodic reviews to
account for changes in constituency population size; independent of govt but must
follow Rules of Redistribution (set out in legislation + decided by Parliament)
- Commissions used to have greater flexibility when redrawing boundaries
- Following 2009 expenses scandals, calls to cut cost of politics by reducing
no. of MPs; led to Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
(fixed no. of constituencies at 600, constituencies could no longer be >5%
higher/lower than UK quota (= total electorate/total seats) w/ exemption for 4
island seats, constituencies couldn’t be bigger than 13K square km
- Boundary Commissions conducted 2 reviews using the new rules but neither
proposal was implemented (so 2019 GE contested on boundaries drawn up
using electoral data from 2000; 236 constituencies had electorates within 5%
of the average); Govt introduced Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020
(raised total no. of seats from 600 → 650, made implementation of Boundary
Commission's proposals automatic so reforms no longer require
Parliamentary approval
- Also required Commission to start new review: began Jan. 2021, to be
completed by 1st July 2023; England/Scotland/Wales/NI allocated seats
based on proportion of the electorate (England to get 10 more, Scotland 2
less, Wales 8 less, NI the same as before); all constituencies (except 5
islands’ seats) will have electorates between 69,724 to 77,062
- To form majority govt party must win at least 326 seats
- ‘Working majority requires fewer seats: Commons Speaker + 3 deputies don’t vote,
Sinn Fein MPs don’t sit (b/c reject British political institutions) so total no. of voting
MPs is 639 (as of 2019 GE) so 320 needed for majority
- Hung Parliament = no party wins absolute majority of seats
- Coalition govt = multiple parties agree to form govt together, combining their seats to
obtain a majority
- Minority govt = party (usually 1 w/ most seats) forms govt w/o majority
- By-elections = election held outside of GE cycle when seat becomes vacant (b/c MP has
resigned, died, been convicted of serious criminal offence)
- Not held if an MP decides to change party
- FPTP = simple plurality system (= candidate w/ the most votes (a plurality) wins; no
requirement for a majority)
- Disproportionate outcomes: votes received by each party often doesn’t correlate w/
no. of seats they win
English + Welsh local elections:
- Each ward/division elects 1/2/3 councillors depending on size
- Some councils elect whole council every 4 years, some half every 2 years, some ⅓ every
year
- If only 1 seat available, voters choose 1 candidate on the ballot paper; if >1 seat available,
voters mark their 2 or 3 preferred candidates (can vote for 1 party or distribute votes between
multiple)
- Party must win majority of seats on 1 council to win that council
- Council results are often even more disproportionate than GEs
, What are the advantages of First Past The Post?
- Simplicity:
- Easy for voters to use/understand
- Easy for those counting votes + to determine which party will probably win
- Stability: produces strong + stable govts + therefore more stable political system
- Since WWII: majority govts w/ only 3 exceptions (2 minorities, 1 coalition)
- Even under coalition, talks to form a govt are quicker b/c FPTP produces such large
majorities for the main parties (so far fewer parties are likely to be involved in talks)
- Constituency link: FPTP supporters emphasise importance of dyadic representation (= each
voter had an MP who’s expected to represent their constituency) as opposed to collective
representation (= composition of Parliament should more accurately represent political views
of electorate as a whole; voters should be able to pool votes across constituency lines +
ensure there’s a proportional no. of MPs voicing their views)
- An MP who grew up/now lives in the constituency arguable well-positioned to
articulate its views + defend its interests
- Therefore not important for results to be proportionate b/c doesn’t prevent MP from
representing their constituents
Why FPTP supporters prefer majority govts:
- Quick to form: if 1 party has absolute majority, formed pretty much immediately so can start
carrying out their work (until new govt formed, important decisions can’t be taken)
- In other European countries w/o FPTP, govts sometimes take months to form; in the
UK it takes days (if that)
- Stronger: minority govts might struggle to get agenda through Parliament
- More stable: coalition might break down + collapse before next GE
- Extreme parties are kept out of power
- FPTP encourages ‘big tent’/’catch-all’ parties (= include a variety of factions/interests
+ broad range of ideological views in order to attract more supporters; must find
common ground + broad appeal)
- More accountable: majority govt clearly responsible for policy successes/failures (+ no need
for compromise)
- Stronger mandate: single large political party aggregates the demands of its varied supporters
+ produces a popular manifesto that results in a landslide victory; in a coalition, no voters can
be said to have voted for the resulting agreement b/c they involve so much compromise
between parties
General elections:
- UK divided into 650 constituencies (= geographical territory w/ roughly equal no. of voters)
- Each constituency elects single MP to represent them in HoC
- Constituency boundaries drawn up by 4 commissions (first established 1944):
Boundary Commissions for England/Scotland/Wales/NI; conduct periodic reviews to
account for changes in constituency population size; independent of govt but must
follow Rules of Redistribution (set out in legislation + decided by Parliament)
- Commissions used to have greater flexibility when redrawing boundaries
- Following 2009 expenses scandals, calls to cut cost of politics by reducing
no. of MPs; led to Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011
(fixed no. of constituencies at 600, constituencies could no longer be >5%
higher/lower than UK quota (= total electorate/total seats) w/ exemption for 4
island seats, constituencies couldn’t be bigger than 13K square km
- Boundary Commissions conducted 2 reviews using the new rules but neither
proposal was implemented (so 2019 GE contested on boundaries drawn up
using electoral data from 2000; 236 constituencies had electorates within 5%
of the average); Govt introduced Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020
(raised total no. of seats from 600 → 650, made implementation of Boundary
Commission's proposals automatic so reforms no longer require
Parliamentary approval
- Also required Commission to start new review: began Jan. 2021, to be
completed by 1st July 2023; England/Scotland/Wales/NI allocated seats
based on proportion of the electorate (England to get 10 more, Scotland 2
less, Wales 8 less, NI the same as before); all constituencies (except 5
islands’ seats) will have electorates between 69,724 to 77,062
- To form majority govt party must win at least 326 seats
- ‘Working majority requires fewer seats: Commons Speaker + 3 deputies don’t vote,
Sinn Fein MPs don’t sit (b/c reject British political institutions) so total no. of voting
MPs is 639 (as of 2019 GE) so 320 needed for majority
- Hung Parliament = no party wins absolute majority of seats
- Coalition govt = multiple parties agree to form govt together, combining their seats to
obtain a majority
- Minority govt = party (usually 1 w/ most seats) forms govt w/o majority
- By-elections = election held outside of GE cycle when seat becomes vacant (b/c MP has
resigned, died, been convicted of serious criminal offence)
- Not held if an MP decides to change party
- FPTP = simple plurality system (= candidate w/ the most votes (a plurality) wins; no
requirement for a majority)
- Disproportionate outcomes: votes received by each party often doesn’t correlate w/
no. of seats they win
English + Welsh local elections:
- Each ward/division elects 1/2/3 councillors depending on size
- Some councils elect whole council every 4 years, some half every 2 years, some ⅓ every
year
- If only 1 seat available, voters choose 1 candidate on the ballot paper; if >1 seat available,
voters mark their 2 or 3 preferred candidates (can vote for 1 party or distribute votes between
multiple)
- Party must win majority of seats on 1 council to win that council
- Council results are often even more disproportionate than GEs
, What are the advantages of First Past The Post?
- Simplicity:
- Easy for voters to use/understand
- Easy for those counting votes + to determine which party will probably win
- Stability: produces strong + stable govts + therefore more stable political system
- Since WWII: majority govts w/ only 3 exceptions (2 minorities, 1 coalition)
- Even under coalition, talks to form a govt are quicker b/c FPTP produces such large
majorities for the main parties (so far fewer parties are likely to be involved in talks)
- Constituency link: FPTP supporters emphasise importance of dyadic representation (= each
voter had an MP who’s expected to represent their constituency) as opposed to collective
representation (= composition of Parliament should more accurately represent political views
of electorate as a whole; voters should be able to pool votes across constituency lines +
ensure there’s a proportional no. of MPs voicing their views)
- An MP who grew up/now lives in the constituency arguable well-positioned to
articulate its views + defend its interests
- Therefore not important for results to be proportionate b/c doesn’t prevent MP from
representing their constituents
Why FPTP supporters prefer majority govts:
- Quick to form: if 1 party has absolute majority, formed pretty much immediately so can start
carrying out their work (until new govt formed, important decisions can’t be taken)
- In other European countries w/o FPTP, govts sometimes take months to form; in the
UK it takes days (if that)
- Stronger: minority govts might struggle to get agenda through Parliament
- More stable: coalition might break down + collapse before next GE
- Extreme parties are kept out of power
- FPTP encourages ‘big tent’/’catch-all’ parties (= include a variety of factions/interests
+ broad range of ideological views in order to attract more supporters; must find
common ground + broad appeal)
- More accountable: majority govt clearly responsible for policy successes/failures (+ no need
for compromise)
- Stronger mandate: single large political party aggregates the demands of its varied supporters
+ produces a popular manifesto that results in a landslide victory; in a coalition, no voters can
be said to have voted for the resulting agreement b/c they involve so much compromise
between parties
