How do the different UK electoral systems effect the representation of the political parties?

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How do the different UK electoral systems effect the representation of the political parties?

One of the most common electoral systems in the UK is the First Past The Post system which is used to elect MPs to the House of Commons. The effects of the FPTP are numerous; it leads no clear correlation between number of votes cast and seats won. This means that parties that have strong support in a few concentrated areas can win more seats than parties with scattered support throughout the country, despite the latter gaining g more votes. An example seen is in the 1974 election when conservatives won 200,000 more vote than Labour but won four fewer seats, as Labour had more concentrated support in certain regions. It can also lead to tactical voting where by people do not vote for their first choice party in order to ensure the party they oppose to not come to power. Minority party votes are often not heard e.g.the Greenparty. It can also dissuade voters from voting in areas where a party is almost guaranteed a seat e. g the Conservative seat in Islington is virtually guaranteed even if a couple of hundred people voted Labour. This means that minority votes are never heard, and parties like Greenpeace can find it very difficult to get a seat in parliament. However on the other hand the FTPT also creates single party government, usually with a majority in the House of Commons which enables them to rule decisively and efficiently especially in times of crisis.

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Another system is the party lists which is used for election in the EU. It favours a proportionally between the votes cast and seats, e.g. if the party gets 32% of the vote they get 32% of seats. This helps smaller parties like the Liberals and Green party to gain seats easily in Brussels. In closed party lists, however people have no control over who the party’s choice of candidates. This means parties can stifle minority or independent candidate options. There is also a lack of democratic accountability to voters as parties chose their own MPs.

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