Another significant advantage of ‘first past the post’ is that the electoral system usually leads to a majority. Of course, there are definitely occurrences where this is not the case and Britain currently finds itself governed by a coalition government made up of Conservative and Liberal Democrat members after the May 2010 general election. However, this has only been the outcome four times in Britain since 1951; these are exceptions. Usually the system works in such a way as to create a stable, majority government and consequently leads to a clean, swift transferral of powers from one government to its successor.
Under ‘first past the post’ there is typically a strong, unique bond between a constituency and its MP. The fact that there is only one MP per constituency means that the people have only one representative to rely on; they do not have the choice of a couple or more MP’s to turn to, suggesting that their one MP will get to know more people in the constituency on a closer basis.
c) Make out a case in favour of the introduction of proportional representation for Westminster elections. (25 Marks)
As it stands, our current electoral system carries many flaws. Some political parties, Liberal Democrats in particular support the idea that proportional representation should be introduced for Westminster elections. Proportional representation is an umbrella term given to electoral systems which tend to produce institutions that representative of the people who have voted for them. It is unlikely that any type of PR electoral system will guarantee an exact representation of the people; however, it is definitely more likely that smaller parties, ethnic minority groups and women will be voted into power under PR rather than majority systems.
Proportional representation is used predominantly across the Europe and this has consequently put pressure on the British government to conform to this type of voting system now that we are a member of the European Union. However, it can definitely be argued that it is not just for this reason that the introduction of PR voting systems is for the best. As is given away in its name, proportional representation endeavours to represent the people of the country fully by allocating seats in proportion to number of votes received by each party.
As most PR voting systems are totally proportional, such as the party list system, there are no wasted votes. This idea sounds very attractive, especially to those who feel that the party they wish to see in Parliament will never have enough votes to achieve this or for those who feel they have to vote tactically. The elimination of wasted votes should potentially increase the turn out in general elections; specifically those who felt that their vote would not have counted under majority systems. Some may view the idea that multi-member constituencies are a positive factor; something which proportional representation produces. It can be argued that with more than one MP to each constituency enables choice for the people so that they can decide who they wish to turn to rather than only having one option.
Proportional Representation also tends to produce results which reflect that social and political make up of an electorate as a whole. As I have alluded to previously, the introduction of a PR electoral system would typically raise the number of ethnic minority groups and women into government, as well as increasing the number of smaller party member within government. To many people, this is a very positive factor; it promotes the idea of equality, something which has been eagerly fought for in recent years.
The Single Transferable Vote system, although complicated, is renowned for its fairness and the amount of choice it gives to its voters. For obvious reasons, these two factors can be beneficial to certain areas of the country; it is currently being used in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and for local elections in Scotland. In these areas, STV prevents unionist parties winning an overall majority, it reflects the sections of much divided societies and due to the strong civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, the electorate demanded that there needed to be a wider variety of choice within their electoral system. STV was able to satisfy each of these three aims. Of course, to use this voting system in Westminster elections may not work so well; the majority of the public may find it much too complicated to understand and therefore abstain from voting at all. However, I believe that the fact that the STV system maximises a voter’s choice is a very good thing; this in itself may increase turn out in elections just because the people know that if their first choice does not succeed, their second might.
Wales and Scotland use what is known as a hybrid system to determine the outcome of their Welsh Assembly elections and the Scottish Parliament elections. The decision to introduce an Additional Members voting system (AMS) came after the constitutional change which took place in 1997; devolution. AMS is thought of something of a compromise; it is designed to ensure that the electoral system is partly proportional without losing the benefits of having one MP per constituency. In effect, AMS both preserves the idea of constituency representation but produces a much more proportional vote than a simple majority system such as ‘first past the post’. I believe that this system works well in Wales and Scotland as each country has parties associated with their own cultures; Plaid Cymru and Scottish National Party for example. AMS ensures smaller parties are granted more seats due to the proportional representation where they would have lost seats under a majority system.
To conclude, it can certainly be argued that proportional representation in an electoral system seems an attractive option. It appears that under a PR system, voters will gain more choice in elections and smaller parties, minority groups and women will gain more seats as PR not only reflects the political representation of an area but also its social representation. It is usually the fairness of the PR electoral systems which is so appealing but the growing pressure to reform the electoral system from membership of the European Union and the newly formed coalition government is becoming more and more eminent. It is doubtful that proportional representation will work efficiently in a Westminster election for a number of reasons. People are used to the traditional ‘first past the post’ meaning they may prefer to leave it the same, some feel that having too much choice may cause indecisiveness but maybe the biggest disadvantage of a PR electoral system is the fact that it will almost certainly lead to a coalition government. Typically, these types of government are seen as unstable; however, I do believe that in certain areas of the country on a smaller basis, proportional representation can work due to its ability to allow smaller parties closely linked to the specific cultures (Plaid Cymru in Wales).