Evaluate the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK and explain the electoral process.

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Joseph Whitelegg        Government Policies - Task 1        43006701

Evaluate the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK and explain the electoral process.

The electoral process in the UK is based on the ‘first past the post’ rule. This means that a candidate wins a constituency simply by gaining more votes than any other candidate. However, this does not necessarily mean that the successful candidate received the majority of votes. For example, should four candidates compete, their seat in The House of Commons could be won with as few as 26% of the overall votes cast.

Similarly no government elected since nineteen-forty-five has secured over fifty percent of the national vote. These results arise because the British electoral system permits minority rule, not simply majoritarianism. The more candidates that stand and the more evenly balanced their support, the fewer votes are needed to win. Ultimately there will always be a mismatch between votes cast and seats won unless every voter supports one candidate, since there is only one seat to win.

Each candidate must consent to nomination and must be supported by at least ten registered electors who live in the constituency. There are few prohibitions on candidacy but a potential candidate must be at least twenty-one years old, a British citizen and have their name on the electoral register. Those who may not stand include members of the House of Lords, those with criminal convictions of a certain nature, those of unsound mind, and certain clergymen. These rules also apply to those eligible to vote. Each application must be accompanied by a deposit of £500 which is returnable if the candidate achieves five percent of the votes cast.

Members of Parliament (MPs) are chosen at general or Parliamentary elections. A by-election is held when the local MP resigns or dies during their term in office. Local elections are held to vote for councillors standing for the various tiers of local government.

General elections are held every five years, although the Prime Minister may ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament at any time in the life of a government. County councils and unitary authorities elect councillors for seats every four years and other local authorities hold elections for a third of their members at a time. When a general election is called, each one of the UK’s constituencies holds a local election and returns one MP. There is no limit to the number of candidates who may contest any one seat.

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The government in power has the authority to alter the electoral system. This ability was closely scrutinised when the Labour Party’s 1997 election manifesto included a commitment to hold a referendum in which voters would be presented with a choice between the existing system and a system of proportional representation, which embraces characteristics of many electoral systems.

The elected MPs sit in the House of Commons which has around six-hundred-and-fifty members, each representing a given geographical area, or constituency. It exists as much to protect local interests as to define national issues and representation is divided broadly between ...

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