Key Concepts
election
majoritarian representation
mandate
proportional representation
electoral reform
party system
strong government
stable government
Content Explanation
Elections and democracy — a knowledge and understanding of how and why elections promote democracy, and of the limitations of this democratic role.
Elections in the UK — a knowledge and understanding of the workings of the voting systems used for elections to the House of Commons, to devolved bodies and local authorities, and to the European Parliament, and an awareness of their implications for party representation and government.
Debating electoral systems — a knowledge and understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the UK electoral systems and, in particular, of the benefits or otherwise of changing the Westminster electoral system. (Extended questions will not be set on particular electoral systems, except for the simple plurality system).
Exposition
- Definition of elections (distinguish from referendums)
- Functions of elections—e.g. formation of governments, representation of public opinion
- Link between elections and democracy—how elections promote democracy; nature of electoral representation; electoral mandates and their viability
- Features of the ‘first-part-the-post’ (FPTP), or simple plurality electoral system
- Features of the other electoral systems used in the UK — additional member system (AMS); single transferable vote (STV); regional party list; supplementary vote; where and how they operate
- Reasons for the wider use of proportional representation (PR) electoral systems since 1997
- Impact of FPTP and PR on party representation and political systems generally (with reference to recent UK examples), emphasising the difference between majoritarian representation and proportional representation
- Electoral reform debate—drawbacks of PR and strengths of FPTP including the tendency towards strong and stable government, mandate democracy and the containment of political extremism; drawbacks of FPTP and strengths of PR including fairer representation, more legitimate government and stronger emphasis on consensus building
