ADDITIONAL MEMBER SYSTEM (AMS)

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ADDITIONAL MEMBER SYSTEM (AMS)

Advantages

  • Equal value of votes.
  • A fair choice of votes -allows voters to make a wider choice and vote for different parties in constituency and list elections
  • mixed character keeps constituency representation and combines this with fairer representation - e.g. in 2011 Scottish Parliament, Labour MPs got 20% constituency seats in FPTP for 31% of votes and following the variable top-up got 29% seats
  • Fairer on the parties that do not have enough support in a single FPTP constituency -allows smaller parties to gain seats - e.g. Green party gained two seats in the regionalist section but won none under the FPTP elections in 2011
  • Allows voters to express a vote for a candidate without worrying about going against their party
  • Every voter has at least one effective vote
  • broadly proportional, but not so much that it rules out the possibility of single party government - e.g. Scotland 2011 formed a single party government

Disadvantages

  • Creates a two-class system of representatives. Some with constituencies and some without. -constituency representation is less effective than in FPTP as the constituencies are larger and some representatives have no constituencies
  • Can be complicated for voters + people getting confused over exactly what they're supposed to do with their two votes.
  • Coalitions more likely
  • Having two different types of representative creates animosity between them. In Wales and Scotland, for example, AMs and MSPs elected via the regional lists have been seen as having 'got in via the backdoor' or as 'assisted place' or 'second class' members
  • Many representatives are accountable to the party leadership rather than the voters.

Evaluation

overall, is more democratic because it gives smaller parties and therefore the minorities greater representation in government and increases the likelihood of a coalition thus making government represent more interests and disadvantages are weak as they do not directly make democracy more vulnerable

Comments

Norah McKenzie

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Excellent Pupil now to use their own evidence and link it to the question

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