First Past The Post (Simple Plurality)
- Created by: Francesca
- Created on: 10-04-14 13:34
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- First Past The Post (Simple Plurality)
- Used for General Elections
- Variant - Block vote in which constituencies elect more than 1 candidate used in local elections in England + Wales
- Features
- plurality of votes to win (one more than second placed candidate)
- Victorious candidate may win with a relatively low share of the vote (no absolute majority needed)
- e.g. 2010 General Election result in Hampstead and Kilburn - 3 way marginal seat won by Labour candidate Glenda Jackson with under 1/3 of votes casts (only 42 votes more than conservative)
- Single vote - (X) on ballot paper
- single candidate elected from each constituency
- single member constituencies (650 for general election)
- Constituencies roughly equal size - boundaries determined by independent boundary commissions
- Implications
- tends to foster a two-party system
- favors major parties with strong nationwide support
- giving them a good chance of securing a parliamentary majority
- since 1979 Labour or Conservatives have been in Government
- giving them a good chance of securing a parliamentary majority
- disadvantages smaller parties with thinly spread support - difficult to win seats
- Little incentive for a faction within one of the main parties to break away and form a new party
- Evaluation: support for main two parties fell to 65% of electorate in 2010 as Lib Dems won 23% and smaller parties combined vote share of 12%
- FPTP acts a a life support machine for 2 party system and disguises the advance of multi-party politics
- Lib Dems entered government as part of a coalition in 2010
- FPTP acts a a life support machine for 2 party system and disguises the advance of multi-party politics
- favors major parties with strong nationwide support
- landslide Effect
- tends to exaggerate performance of most popular party
- producing a landslide effect
- Relatively small lead over 2nd placed party often translated into a substantial lead in seats
- producing a landslide effect
- e.g. Conservatives in 1983 won a 144 seat majority, up from 43 seats in 1979, despite the fact that conservative support fell by 1.5%
- 2005 - Labour 35% of votes, 355 seats Conservatives - 32% of votes, 197 seats
- tends to exaggerate performance of most popular party
- Single-party Governments with working parliamentary majorites
- only the Feb 1974 and 2010 General Elections did not deliver a majority of seats from one party
- Disproportionality - see disadvantages
- tends to foster a two-party system
- Untitled
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