Electoral Systems Assignment

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Politics Exam Questions

Electoral Systems Assignment

  1. Outline two functions of elections. (5 Marks)

The first major function of an election is to allow the voice of the public to determine who the new government of the day becomes, making the government accountable to the people in doing so. This serves as both a representative function and one which seeks to uphold democracy in a country. This type of popular participation allows those voted for to act on behalf of the people who put them there, ensuring that all major decisions, if not put to a referendum, will be decided by the government of the day with the best interests of their people at heart. The representative function works in two ways. On the whole, it is the government who must do what they believe is best on behalf of their country, however, on a smaller scale, we vote for our favoured MP in a general election meaning that they also have a responsibility to represent their individual constituency.

Another function of an election is for the people to present a verdict on the performance of the government in power. If the population believes that a particular government has not acted very well on behalf of its people, it is likely that they will either vote against the current government or decide to not vote at all. This was the situation in 1997 when the Conservative Party lost an election after the Labour Government won a landslide victory. The country was able to express their dissatisfaction with the government and in doing so, granted a mandate to the successive government.

b)     Explain three advantages of the ‘First Past the Post’ electoral system. (10 marks)

        One of the biggest advantages of ‘first past the post’ is the fact that it is simple. A voter merely has to put a cross in one box on a ballot paper signalling the MP they wish to represent their constituency and in doing so, they vote for the party that they would like to see in government. The simplicity of the electoral system means that it is easy for the population to understand clearly how they are voting and who they are voting for. This also means that the electorate are probably more likely to vote as they are not confused by a complex voting system.  

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        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 ...

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