Strengths and weaknesses of different electoral systems in the UKElections to the UK Parliament

What is First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system?

First Past the Post (FPTP) is a simple plurality system. For the purposes of elections to the UK Parliament, Scotland is divided into 59 constituencies, most with about 70-80,000 voters. Each constituency has its own list of candidates competing to become MP. The winner is the candidate with the most votes. This is not necessarily a majority of votes.

To decide the winner of a general election, it is not the number of individual votes that decides which party or parties form the government. Government is formed by a party or a coalition of parties that has returned the most constituencies (seats) or Members of Parliament.

Video - First Past the Post (FPTP)

Watch this video explaining the First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system.

2017 election

In 2017, the Conservatives won the most seats of any party. With 318 out of 650 seats they did not have the majority needed to automatically become the government. But with the support of the DUP, who had won 10 seats in Northern Ireland, the Conservatives were able to form government.

2019 election

In 2019, the Conservatives had 365 MPs elected out of a total of 650 seats. This gave them the clear majority of MPs needed to form a government.

What are the advantages of FPTP?

• Representation - Supporters of FPTP claim that only having one representative avoids the confusion arising within the PR systems where there are multiple representatives. Constituents know who represents them and can hold them to account if needed.
• Participation – It is clear to voters how to use this system. This should mean that the number of spoilt ballots is lower, therefore increasing democracy.
• Democratic – This system usually results in a majority government. This means that there is no need for a coalition government and policies to be compromised.
• Democratic – The person with the most votes becomes the MP and therefore has a personal mandate to represent the constituency.

What are the disadvantages of FPTP?

• Democratic – It is possible that a majority of a constituency’s electorate did not vote for the winning candidate. For example in 2019, in Paisley and Renfrewshire North, the winning candidate (Gavin Newlands, SNP) received 23,353 votes but the other candidates combined received 26,482 votes.
• Proportionality – The percentage of the vote does not always reflect the percentage of seats they win. For example, in 2019, Labour received 32% of the vote but won 40% of the seats.
• Democratic – Some voters may choose to vote tactically – trying to prevent a particular person or party from being elected instead of voting for their favoured candidate or party.
• Representation – Parties that do not have their support concentrated in certain areas of the country are disadvantaged. For example, in 2019, the Green Party received 2.7% of the votes but only returned one MP.