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First Past the post

Why is this potentially a bad thing?

First Past the Post tends to lead to a two-party system because...

Why?

People might be encouraged to vote strategically rather than for the party they support most because...

FPTP could also lead to extremes of government coming to power

POINT

Unfair

Extremes of government in power can lead to

  • constant changes in policy
  • instability
  • makes long-term planning difficult

Some argue FPTP is unfair because a party can win a majority in the House of Commons but receive less than 50% of the votes. This can be seen as undemocratic because less than half the population voted in favour of the winning party.

FPTP can sometimes lead to strange results...

EXPLAIN

Constituency B (safe)

This happens because FPTP measures the number of constituencies won not the number of votes cast.

EXAMPLE

Constituency A (marginal)

Labour 30,000 votes

Conservative 10,226 vote

Liberal Democrats 4,333 votes

SNP 3,266 votes

What doesn't seem right about these 2010 general election results?

Labour 21,200 votes

Consevative 21,999 votes

Liberal Democrats 8,656 votes

SNP 3,821 votes

For example, in the 2005 general election the Labour party won a majority of over 55% of seats but only around 35% of votes.

It aint all bad!

Put these points in to a spider diagram

Which party won in each constituency?

Taking in to consideration all the votes, were more people for or against the winning party in each constituency?

Do you think this is fair? Give a reason to justify your answer.

It is simple and easy to understand - one cross against one candidate's name and produces a quick and understandable results.

Each constituency has an MP whose responsibility is to directly represent them.

Usually one party gains a clear majority and can form a government. This avoids coalition governments which can lead to political gridlock, as seen in many German political coalitions.

FPTP is tried and tested, producing some of the oldest and most stable democracies in the world.

  • Copy both the number of seats and % of votes in your jotters in a format of your choice.
  • Can you explain why this happened?

This is because FPTP measures the constituencies won not the percentage of votes cast to give parties seats in the House of Commons.

A party may win many ______ with a very small ____________, meaning the party coming second gathers many ______ but few seats.

Some argue this is unfair to _________ parties because it creates a two-horse-race between the ___________ Party and _______________ Party.

In the 2010 UK General Election, the Lib Dems won 23% of the vote, but only gained 57 seats. Whereas the Labour party won 258 seats and had only 29% of the vote.

First Past the Post

Key terms

What do you already know?

First Past the Post (FPTP) is the electoral system used in the UK.

How it works:

- One ballot paper. One X against the person we wish to be our MP.

- All votes are counted. The person with the most votes becomes MP.

- Only 1 vote more than the runner up is needed to win.

- This happens in each of the 650 seats in the UK.

In groups try to explain how the UK voting system works

650

Electors = The voters.

Candidate =The person wishing to represent the public.

Constituency = An area that an MP (or MSP) represents.

Seat = Another name for a Constituency.

LO: to understand the First Past the Post voting system

I will be able to;

- explain how FPTP works

- state advantages and disadvantages of FPTP

- confidently answer an exam question on FPTP

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