Should Porportianal Representation Be Used In Westminister Elections?

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Should Proportional Representation Be Used In UK Elections?

Proportional representation is the representation of all parties in proportion to their popular vote. Various forms of proportional representation exist, such as a Party List System. The Closed List System is designed for multi-member constituencies – in effect a whole city, region or even country could be one constituency. Each party submits a list of candidates for a constituency, but electorate only vote for party. Seats allocated to each party in accordance with proportion of vote received. Then candidates allocated to seats, working down the list from the top.

There are three main types of proportional systems we can use. The first is the Single Transferable Vote (STV). The main features of a STV are that political parties are able to put up as many candidates as there are seats to fill in each constituency. Another feature is that candidates are elected if they only achieve a quote of votes. This quota is calculated on the basis of the Droop formula. Votes are also counted firstly according to preferences. If any candidate achieves the quote, additional votes for him or her are counted according to second or subsequent preferences. If this still leaves seats unfilled then candidates with the fewest votes are dropped out and his/her votes are redistributed according to the second or subsequent preferences.

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An advantage to this is that this system is capable of achieving highly proportional outcomes. There is also high competition amongst candidates in the same party meaning that they can be judged on their individual records and personal strengths. However there are some disadvantages to this as well. The degree of proportionality achieved in this system can vary on the basis on the party system. Also strong and stable single party governments are unlikely under STV. Multimember constituencies may be devising because they encourage competition amongst members of the same party.

The second system we can use is the regional ...

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