electoral system analysis

use of FPTP

• FPTP is used for UK general elections because it is simple, easy for voters and often produces a strong government

• FTFP suits larger parties, benefiting the Conservatives and Labour, which explains why it remains the system used

  • Labour and the Conservatives benefit from FPTP, and changing it would likely harm their election success

  • The AV referendum in 2011, which voted against changing the system, suggests limited popular support for moving away from FPTP

use of STV

• STV is used in Northern Ireland because it proportional and so will ensure many different parties are represented by the results of the election

  • STV prevents on party dominating in the Northern Ireland Assembly and ensures the government which forms shares power from numerous parties

  • This is important in NI where there has traditionally been a conflict between nationalist and unionist communities

use of AMS

• AMS is used in Scotland and the London Assembly

  • AMS is used because it has representative results and is more proportional than FPTP, without as radical a change as STV

  • Wales used AMS until 2026, when the Senedd adopted a closed list proportional system under the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024

use of SV

• SV was previously used to elect Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners

• SV was replaced by FPTP in 2023 following electoral reforms under the Elections Act 2022

• SV was relatively simple and aimed to produce winners with broader support by allowing second preferences

  • The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (2025) proposes reinstating SV for mayoral elections

impact of electoral system - government type: coalition

• Proportional systems such as STV or AMS have increased the number of coalition governments in NI, Scotland and Wales

• FPTP more often results in a single party government forming

  • The AMS voting system brought about a Scottish Labour-Lib Dem coalition in Scotland in 1999 and 2003, which removed tuition fees for uni students and introduced free nursing care for elderly people

impact of electoral system - government type: minority

• Proportional systems, such as in Scotland, NI and Wales have encouraged more negotiations between political parties

• If a minority government forms, as it has on several occasions in Scotland and Wales, then the government needs the support of other parties to pass legislation and its policies

  • AMS led to SNP minority governments in Scotland from 2007-2011 and 2016; in Wales, Labour governed as a minority from 2011-16 and again after the 2021 Senedd election

impact of electoral system - voter choice

• Proportional systems such as AMS and STV give more choice to voters than FPTP where voters have one vote for one candidate

  • AMS gives voters 2 votes, one for their constituency member and one for a party’s list candidates

  • STV gives voters a preferential vote on a number of candidates, including multiple candidates from the same party

impact of electoral systems - party representation

• Proportional electoral systems better represent smaller parties and are not affected by how the votes have been distributed

  • In FPTP parties are less successful if their vote is thinly spread rather than concentrated in specific areas