Evaluate The Argument That The FPTP Electoral System Should Be Scrapped And Replaced With A More Proportional Electoral System.

Introduction

• First Past The Post is the current electoral system used for UK Parliament elections and local council elections in England and Wales.

• It is a simple plurality system

• the system has come under particular scrutiny lately as the Gallagher Index, rated the 2024 General Election the least proportional election

Paragraph Focus

• Para 1 = FPTP vs Representation and Proportionality

• Para 2 = FPTP vs Choice

• Para 3 = FPTP vs Type of Government Formed

Para 1 = Weaker Argument - Shouldn’t be scrapped and replaced

• FPTP has many advantages which leads to public to support it

• This can be seen in the 2011 Alternative Vote Referendum where 68% of those who turned up voted against changing the electoral system to AV (a more proportional system)

• FPTP has a very strong MP-constituency link, which arguably delivers effective local representation

• Eg. in December 2023, 22 Conservative MPs supported a Labour amendment aimed at speeding up compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal, rebelling against a 3 line conservative whip to do so

• This is a good example of strong MP-constituency link and local representation under FPTP, as the rebels were influence by strong local movements and victims of the scandal in their constituency

Para 1 = Stronger Argument - Should be scrapped and replaced

• First Past The Post is very unrepresentative, as it is a simple plurality system that results in elected MPs often lacking majority support in their constituency.

• FPTP favours parties with geographically concentrated support and therefore massively under-represents the majority of minor parties.

• In 2019, the Liberal Democrats won 11.5% of the vote but just 1.7% of the seats.

• FPTP also results in a 'winner's bonus', where the party with the most votes, even when they don't have a majority, hugely benefits.

• eg. 2024

Para 2 = Weaker Argument - Shouldn’t be scrapped and replaced

• Whilst FPTP may have limited voter choice, it is extremely easy to use for voters, who only have to select one candidate/party

• The result is also usually known early in the morning after polling day and the government is quickly formed

• In 2024, the first constituency result (Sunderland South) was announced at 23:15 on the day of the election

• the next morning, Starmer arrived at Downing Street as the new Prime Minister at 12:40pm the day after the election

Para 2 = Stronger Argument - Should be scrapped and replaced

• Voter choice is very limited under FPTP.

• Voters only get one vote and can therefore only vote for one party, preventing them from showing their political preferences more fully

• This contrasts with the Additional Member System when voters get 2 votes, one for a party and one for a constituency member.

• They can therefore vote for a ‘split-ticket’ if they wish.

• Votes are also of greatly unequal value, also due to the difference between safe and marginal seats

• Manchester Rusholme, for example, was won by Labour in 2024 with 51.9.3% of the vote on a turnout of just 40%

Para 3 = Weaker Argument - Shouldn’t be scrapped and replaced

• The key benefit of First Past The Post that is often cited is that it produces strong single-party governments that are able to pass laws effectively.

• These governments have a strong mandate and are able to carry out their programme of government and bring about effective change.

• In 2024, Starmer’s Labour Party won a 174 seat majority with just 33.7% of the popular vote, but there was limited public outrage and questioning of his mandate.

• This contrasts with more proportional electoral systems which are more prone to causing minority/coalition governments, which can be seen as weak as they are more likely to lead to compromised/watered down policies and struggle to implement significant changes

Para 3 = Stronger Argument - Should be scrapped and replaced

• On the other hand, recently FPTP has led to some weak governments that haven’t had majorities. In particular the 2010 Lib Dem-Conservative coalition and the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the Conservatives and the DUP following the 2017 election.

• Further, even though FPTP often leads to strong governments, this can be seen as a drawback as these governments don’t have majority support from the population that could grant legitimacy to this strength.