Distinguish between the effects of FPTP and other electoral systems in the UK

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Distinguish between the effects of FPTP and other electoral systems in the UK

In the UK, FPTP is used to elect MPs into Parliament during general elections, however for devolved states and local governments, different types of electoral systems are used, namely the Single Transferable vote for the Northern Ireland Assembly, Open Regional List systems to elect MEPs and the Additional Member System for the election of members of Scottish Parliament. Each of these different systems have unique features, but as they all stem from proportional representation, the effects of these systems are highly similar the most important being the tendency to produce no overall majority, a more proportional split between votes and seats, and an increase in legitimacy of government and their mandate to govern. 

One of the most important effects of FPTP is that it normally produces a strong effective government with a clear majority. This can be seen in the 1997 election results where Labour gained a majority of 179 seats! The largest majority in British politics to date. At the time, this meant Labour could pass laws effectively without fierce opposition and implement the many reforms stated in their manifesto. Proportional representation in the UK, namely AMS and STV tend to produce the opposite effect, because votes are allocated in relation to the votes, usually there is no clear winner who has gained more than 50% of the vote, this leads to either a minority or coalition government forming. This is the case Scottish Parliament, where Labour formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, but the partnership soon dissolved with the Scottish National Party ruling as a minority government. This produces a weak government with many conflicts in Parliament as the ruling party must gain support from other parties to pass laws. 

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Another effect of FPTP is that it restricts the chance of small extremist parties from gaining seats in Parliament. During the 2010 elections, the BNP gained 563,743 votes which made up 1.9% of the overall vote. If we have used the national list system they should have theoretically gained 12 seats in Westminster, but because of FPTP they have none today. The SNP however only had 491,386 votes yet they managed to gain 6 seats, this is because FPTP favours parties who’s support is concentrated in certain constituencies. The BNP may have many supporters nationally, but electors who vote ...

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