Comparing Electoral and
Party Systems
Previous Questions:
2019: The use of Direct Democracy in the UK and USA is attractive in theory but undesirable
in Practice
2020: Explain and analyse three ways that rational theory could be used to explain voting
behaviour in the US and UK
2021: A key characteristic of the US and UK is that they both have strong and durable two-
party systems
“Explain and Analyse three ways that Structural Theory
could be used to compare election cycles and terms in the
UK and US”
More rigid and fixed nature of US Elections
- House elections are held every 2 years, Presidential elections are
held every 4 years in November, and Senate elections are held
every 6 years
- Under the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019, there
is greater potential for flexibility with UK general elections
which only stipulate a maximum term of 5 years – leading to
potential for Snap Elections like May 2017 and Johnson 2019
- TISB despite the FPTA attempting to make the UK election
cycle more rigid and entrenched like in the US, this has twice
, been circumvented and completely overridden by Johnson’s
Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019
Elections in-between main General Elections in the UK and US
- US Midterms (2018 Midterms: Democrats won House and
Republicans retained Senate)
- Pre-Brexit, European Parliament Elections: 2019, the winning
Brexit Party won 29 out of the 73 seats available
- Although midterms are far more significant as they often lead to
a change of party in power in one or both chambers of Congress,
ultimately making it harder to get legislation through
Direct impact of European elections was contrastingly much
less significant
US Presidential Term is limited, unlike the UK
- Twenty-second Amendment placed a maximum limit of two
terms (effectively four years) on the US President, whereas this
is unheard of in the UK (with Margaret Thatcher serving for
over 11 years and Tony Blair serving for 10 years)
- TISB this means that most two-term presidents achieve very
little domestically in their final term in office, known as their
lame-duck period
Yet most Prime Ministers rarely serve that long either, with
Liz Truss lasting just 44 days in office
Party Systems
Previous Questions:
2019: The use of Direct Democracy in the UK and USA is attractive in theory but undesirable
in Practice
2020: Explain and analyse three ways that rational theory could be used to explain voting
behaviour in the US and UK
2021: A key characteristic of the US and UK is that they both have strong and durable two-
party systems
“Explain and Analyse three ways that Structural Theory
could be used to compare election cycles and terms in the
UK and US”
More rigid and fixed nature of US Elections
- House elections are held every 2 years, Presidential elections are
held every 4 years in November, and Senate elections are held
every 6 years
- Under the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019, there
is greater potential for flexibility with UK general elections
which only stipulate a maximum term of 5 years – leading to
potential for Snap Elections like May 2017 and Johnson 2019
- TISB despite the FPTA attempting to make the UK election
cycle more rigid and entrenched like in the US, this has twice
, been circumvented and completely overridden by Johnson’s
Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019
Elections in-between main General Elections in the UK and US
- US Midterms (2018 Midterms: Democrats won House and
Republicans retained Senate)
- Pre-Brexit, European Parliament Elections: 2019, the winning
Brexit Party won 29 out of the 73 seats available
- Although midterms are far more significant as they often lead to
a change of party in power in one or both chambers of Congress,
ultimately making it harder to get legislation through
Direct impact of European elections was contrastingly much
less significant
US Presidential Term is limited, unlike the UK
- Twenty-second Amendment placed a maximum limit of two
terms (effectively four years) on the US President, whereas this
is unheard of in the UK (with Margaret Thatcher serving for
over 11 years and Tony Blair serving for 10 years)
- TISB this means that most two-term presidents achieve very
little domestically in their final term in office, known as their
lame-duck period
Yet most Prime Ministers rarely serve that long either, with
Liz Truss lasting just 44 days in office
