Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Majoritarian systems-
FPTP, SV and AV
- Two party systems
- Only the two main parties have realistic
chance of taking power
- In 2015 they got 2/3 of the vote but 80% of the seats
- Favours parties with strong nationwide support
- Disadvantages parties with thinly spread support
- ie UKIP v SNP
- Little incentive for a faction within a main party to breakaway and form a new party
- Disguises the advance of multi- party politics
- Winner's bonus
- Landslide effect
- Exaggerates the the performance of the most popular party
- Labour party landslide 1997/2001
- Conservative party landslide 1983/1987
- A relatively small lead often translates into a substantial lead in seats
- In 2015 37% turned into 51% of the seats for the tories whereas Labour got 30% and 36% of the seats
- Bias to SNP
- Because they only stand in Scotland they have
concentrated support. This is a big bonus in FPTP
- because thinly spread voting doesn't win seats
- The seats in Scotland are on average smaller than seats in the
rest of the country. They need less votes to win
- The wrong side can win
- In 1951 the tories got more seats but the Labour party got more
votes but it's fair because....
- In Feb 1974 Labour got more seats despite the Conservatives
getting more votes
- Discrimination against third/ smaller parties
- No rewards for coming second or third
- Parties with thinly spread support lose out
- UKIP over 900,000 votes in 2010, but 0% seat share
- Lib Dems 23% of the vote but only won a single seat
- Green Party over 1.5 million votes but only one MP
- In 2015 UKIP obtained 12.6% of the vote and only won one seat
- Single Party government
- Coalition &minority governments are quite rare
- Only Feb 1974 and May 2010 general elections have not given a majority for one party