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WEEK 4 – DOES THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR WESTMINSTER NEED REFORMING?

WEEK 4 – DOES THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR WESTMINSTER NEED REFORMING?. POLITICAL POWER IN A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY. European Union. EUROPEAN UNION. EXECUTIVE (PRIME MINISTER/CABINET). Parliament. Political parties. REPRESENTATIVE (MP OR PARTY). Electoral system. VOTER.

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WEEK 4 – DOES THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR WESTMINSTER NEED REFORMING?

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  1. WEEK 4 – DOES THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR WESTMINSTER NEED REFORMING?

  2. POLITICAL POWER IN A REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY European Union EUROPEAN UNION EXECUTIVE (PRIME MINISTER/CABINET) Parliament Political parties REPRESENTATIVE (MP OR PARTY) Electoral system VOTER

  3. WHY STUDY ELECTORAL SYSTEMS? House of Commons, 2005 Labour: 35% of vote55% of seats Government: Labour Scottish Parliament, 2007 Labour: 31% of vote36% of seats Government: SNP Result: Breakup of Britain?

  4. KEY QUESTIONS • What are the effects of the current electoral system for Westminster? What would be the effects of changing the electoral system? • Would such a move enhance or weaken democracy? • Why has the Westminster electoral system come under attack recently?

  5. ELECTORAL CONSTITUENCIES: WESTMINSTER

  6. ELECTORAL CONSTITUENCIES: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

  7. PLURALITY ELECTORAL OUTCOME Source: Farrell (2001) Table 2.1

  8. PLURALITY ELECTORAL OUTCOME, 2010 Source: Electoral Reform Society

  9. ELECTORAL (DIS)PROPORTIONALITY, 2005 Liberal Democrat Labour Other Conservative Source: House of Commons Library

  10. ELECTORAL (DIS)PROPORTIONALITY, 2010 Liberal Democrat Labour Other Conservative Source: House of Commons Library

  11. ELECTORAL DISPROPORTIONALITY, 1945-2010 Source: House of Commons Library

  12. ELECTORAL ‘DESERTS’ Scotland, 1997Conservatives Votes: 18% Seats: 0% North East, 2005Conservatives/Lib Democrats Votes: 43% Seats: 7% Eastern, 2010Labour Votes: 20% Seats: 3% Wales, 2001Conservatives Votes: 21% Seats: 0%

  13. OUTCOMES UNDER DIFFERENT ELECTORAL SYSTEMS: PARTIES General election, England (2010) European Parliament election, England (2009) Source: House of Commons Library

  14. OUTCOMES UNDER DIFFERENT ELECTORAL SYSTEMS: GOVERNMENT Source: House of Commons Library

  15. CONSEQUENCES OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS Single member plurality • Candidates often win on plurality of vote • Bonus of seats to leading party (‘winner’s bonus’) • Disproportional • Electoral ‘deserts’ Proportional representation • More winners in each constituency • Nationally, seat share close to vote share ie. Proportional • Winning party often lacks majority of seats • Coalition government?

  16. THE FUNCTION OF ELECTIONS Majoritarian • Elections are means of selecting/controlling a government • Requires two party system- Decisiveness hindered with multiple parties • Clear link between voters’ wishes and government outcome • Prime quality of elections = accountability Proportional • Elections are means of choosing a representative outcome • Requires multi-party system+ proportional electoral system • Governments arise through bargaining within representative legislature • Prime quality of elections = representation

  17. Campaign for Democracy Dear Mr Blair I believe that the result of this month's election, in which your government was elected with a 67-seat majority on 36% of the popular vote and with the support of 22% of the electorate, is a subversion of our democracy. I call on you, in your final term as Prime Minister, to institute urgent reform of our voting system so that the British people are encouraged to believe that their votes count and that the result of a general election is more representative of their wishes (10thMay 2005)

  18. GOVERNING PARTY SHARE OF VOTE, 1945-2010 Source: House of Commons Library

  19. EVALUATING ELECTORAL SYSTEMS “… elections serve a number of different functions, and there are different democratic criteria against which they can be evaluated. Not all these functions or criteria are entirely compatible with one another. It follows, therefore, that there is no one self-evidently ‘best’ electoral system from a democratic point of view; it will be a question of making the most defensible trade-off between a number of possible considerations.” Beetham, ‘How Should We Vote?’

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