Electoral Systems

FPTP (Ilford South)

Sam Tarry (former MP for Ilford South) stood up for keeping SKS’ special educational needs department open in Parliament in 2019.

FPTP (BoJo)

BoJo’s 80 seat majority allowed him to ‘Get Brexit Done’ in 2020 and carry out the EU Withdrawal Act.

FPTP (Extremist seats)

UKIP and the BNP got very few or no seats under FPTP. Reform only got 5 in the UK general election.

FPTP (2017 turnout and US example)

In the 2017 general election, there was a voter turnout of 68.7%, the highest in over a century. In other FPTP systems like the US, the 2020 presidential elections had a turnout of 66.8%, highest in over a century.

FPTP (2017 tactical voting)

Over 6 million voters voted tactically.

FPTP (2015 part vote share)

• Green and UKIP got 5 million votes (13% vote share), but only 1 seat each (UKIP would’ve gotten 82 seats and Green 25 under PR).

• Conservatives won 37% of vote share, but 51% of seats. Tories would’ve gotten 240 only under PR.

FPTP (2017 youth turnout)

Youth turnout in the election was high at 64%

FPTP (2019 SNP)

SNP won 48 seats with only 3.9% of votes (7.4% seats).

FPTP (2019 Greens vs Tories)

It required 800000 votes to elect 1 Green MP, but only 38000 to elect a Conservative MP. Conservatives won 43% of votes, but 56% of seats.

FPTP (2019 wasted votes)

71% of voters cast ‘wasted’ votes- 22.6 million people.

FPTP (Green voters)

Green voters often vote Labour to prevent a Conservative victory.

FPTP (2024 stats- labour)

The most disproportionate election outcome- Labour won 63.2% of the seat share with only 33.7% of the vote share.

FPTP (2024 stats- Green/Reform)

Reform had 14.3% of the votes, but under 1% of seats. Green won nearly 7% of votes, and under 1% of seats.  Over 800000 votes were required to elect 1 Reform MP, and nearly 500000 votes for a Green MP.

FPTP (2024 wasted votes)

57.8% of voters were unrepresented. 74% cast wasted votes- 21.2 million votes.

FPTP (2024 turnout)

Turnout in the 2024 election was low at 59.7%, the lowest since 2001.

FPTP (proportion)

There has not been a relatively proportional election under FPTP since 1970.

PR (Belgium1)

In Belgium, where there is PR, it took 540 days for a government to form between 2010 and 2011.

PR (Belgium2)

The 2025 government in Belgium took 7 months to form a 5-party coalition.

PR (STV)

STV uses a complicated formula to calculate the winner.

PR (Reform seats)

Reform- some would say a racist party- would’ve gotten 94 instead of 5 seats under PR in 2024.

PR (UK coalition example)

Encourages post election cooperation. The coalition passed the Marriage Act 2013 to legalise same-sex marriage and introduce Universal Credit.

PR (NI)

STV helped end sectarian violence in NI by forcing the sects to work together in government.

PR (Scottish elections)

In 2016 Scottish elections, SNP won 49% of seats, which would’ve been an extremely disproportionate 84% under FPTP.

PR (STV MPs)

At least 1 of the 6 constituency MPs should represent you in STV.

PR (AMS)

Under AMS, instead of the massive 411 seats that Labour won, 236 seats would have been won, allowing for a more pluralist democracy.

PR (AMS ballots)

Under AMS in Scotland in 2007, there were 140000 spoilt ballot papers.

Referendums (1998)

The Good Friday Agreement 1998 allowed the govt to create a powersharing devolved body in NI.

Referendums (2011)

In the AV referendum, 68% voted to keep FPTP.

Referendums (2014)

In the Scottish referendum, 16 to 17 yr olds voted, with 75% doing so.

Referendums (1997/2011)

The Welsh referendums gave them a greater range of powers.

Referendums (2004)

The North East referendum was voted firmly against by 78%.

Referendums (AV turnout)

The AV referendum had a turnout of 42%.

Referendums (EU turnout)

Turnout for the 2016 EU referendum was 72%.

Referendums (EU decision)

2016 EU referendum was voted 52% leave (which was only 37% of the adult population) to 48% remain. Scotland voted 62% remain, NI 56% remain.

Referendums (EU age and class divide)

27% of 18-24 yr olds voted leave, but 60% of over 60s voted leave. The working class majority voted leave, whereas middle classes voted remain.

Referendums (Hammersmith)

After the EU referendum, in Hammersmith, the Polish Centre was targeted by neo-Nazis.

Referendums (EU issues)

Only 33% of voters felt well informed about EU issues. The leave campaign claimed leaving would result in £350 million more for the NHS weekly. Chancellor George Osborne threatened an emergency austerity budget if the UK left the EU to scare voters.

Referendums (leave EU side)

The leave side breached spending limits designed to ensure a level playing field.

Referendums (Farage)

Nigel Farage sanctioned anti-immigrant posters to play on fears of being swamped by Syrian refugees.

Referendums (newspaper)

The Daily Express ran the headline “New EU threat to your pension.”