CAMPAIGN Conservatives: 3 main manifesto points were defence, employment and economic prosperity - remained committed to membership of the European Community, a nuclear deterrent, trade union reform, more privatisation, long-term tax reduction and lower inflation. ...
VOTING BEHAVIOUR Gender: There was a swing to Labour in both genders, with no real difference in the final result. Many women decided to vote Labour in the 1997 general election due to the increase in women working, mainly in the public sector. Also, Thatcher’s...
VOTING BEHAVIOUR 2019 saw so much issue voting on Brexit that it was dubbed ‘the Brexit Election’ The Conservatives, being the strongest leave party won 74% of leave voters Labour only secured 49% of the Remain vote Labour received 56% of the 18-24 vote and 14% of...
SINGLE MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES Good MP to constiuent link. TWO PARTY SYSTEM It favours major parties that have strong nationwide support, which gives them a good chance of securing a parliamentary majority. New 'outsider' parties also find it difficult to break through....
LINK It maintains the relationship between an MP and their constituency and the geographical link between parliament and the constituency, meaning constituents are well represented. This is done through surgeries that MPs hold to gather the views of their constituents...
WEAK MAJORITIES Has been known to deliver weak majorities that give governments weak mandates. While the 2015 General Election did produce a single party government, the strength of its mandate is questionable – Conservatives won 330 seats with just 36.9% - only 24.4%...
ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION It is argued that few people join political parties because members have little influence over policy decisions and candidate selection. In contrast, referendums give everyone an equal voice, without concerns about broken manifesto promises or...
UNDERMINE REPS Some would argue that Parliamentary sovereignty, and the flexibility of our constitution, is an important asset. Elected representatives are expected to make informed decisions that are in the long-term national interest. If governments make poor...
CLASS Although the link between class and voting behaviour has weakened since the 1940s (class dealignment), it was still noticeable in the 2015 general election. The Conservative Party still received the majority of its support from upper middle class and...
SALIENT ISSUES According to an April 2015 YouGov poll, the most ‘salient’ issue in 2015 was the economy. Whilst Labour was considered the best party to manage the economy in 1997, 2001 and 2007, YouGov found that, in 2015, 39% of voters felt that the Conservatives...
PARTY LEADERS The nature of media in the UK has led to a growing focus on party leaders during general election campaigns which in turn encourages people to vote on the basis of leadership, as oppose to class, or valence issues. For example, in the 2017 election,...
MAYORS Establishing directly elected mayors. By 2016, 52 referendums had been held on moving to the directly elected mayor model, with only 16 approving the move. The referendums were triggered by central government, a decision by the local authority or a petition by...
COALITION A referendum on replacing first-past-the-post with the alternative vote system was a central feature of the 2010 Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition agreement. It also included commitments to referendums on Welsh devolution, directly elected mayors and...
REPRESENTATION PARTICIPATION ACCOUNTABILITY MP Zac Goldsmith promised he would not stand as a Conservative candidate at the next election of the party backed the Heathrow expansion, meaning he stood as an Independent in a by-election in 2016. This shows the clear...
GENERAL ELECTIONS These elect all 650 MPs who make up the House of Commons. The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 introduced fixed 5-year terms for governments. Before 2011, the prime minister could call a general election at a time of his or her choosing within their...
MAJORITARIAN The winning candidate must secure an absolute majority of the vote. Candidates are usually elected in single-member constituencies. The output of FPTP could be described as majoritarian because the voters who’s candidates didn’t win are not reflected in...
MORE CHOICE Voter records first and second preferences on the ballot. If no candidate wins a majority of first preferences, all but the top two candidates are eliminated and the second preference votes for them are added to their first preference votes. Candidate with...
CHOICE Reps are elected in large multi-member constituencies. In NI Assembly elections, 18 constituencies lect 6 members. Proportional Representation. Used in Northern Ireland Assembly and European Parliament election in Northern Ireland. Voters vote by ranking as...
MIXED Mixed electoral system which includes elements of FPTP and regional list prop rep. Used in Scottish Parliament, Welsh Parliament and London Assembly. Proportion of seats elected in single-member constituencioes using FPTP. g. 57% of Scottish Parliament....
DIRECT DEMOCRACY An element of direct democracy has been injected into a political system previously wedded to representative democracy. However, the extent to which referendums have enhanced UK democracy is debatable. Referendums have extended political participation...