So what is first past the post?
First past the post (FPTP) is a single-member plurality voting electoral system used for UK general elections.
Voters in each constituency cast a vote for the candidate of their own choice and the candidate who receives the most votes (or is the 'first past the post' metaphorically) wins the election.
However, as FPTP is a plurality voting method, this means that the candidate who is the winner of the vote does not need a majority of votes - only the most votes.
What are the major criticisms of FPTP?
The overwhelming blemish of FPTP is its unrepresentative nature, it is because of this reason that the political pressure group Electoral Reform Society strongly advocates an alternative to FPTP, arguing that the voting system is "bad for voters, bad for government and bad for democracy". In the UK, more than half of MPs typically do not command majority support within their constituency. Support for winning candidates is even further diminished when taking political apathy into consideration, at the 2015 general election, turnout at Belfast South was 60%, so the elected MP Alasdair McDonnell only won 24% of the vote and 15% of his electorate.
At national level, FPTPs incapability to translate votes into seats with any credible accuracy results in the UK regularly producing governments on a minority of the popular vote, in fact in both 1951 and 1974, the governing party gained LESS popular votes than the opposition party! This leaves many voters and notable pressure groups such as the Electoral Reform Society feeling that the system severely lacks democratic legitimacy - this can weaken a government parties mandate to rule.
A more recent criticism of FPTP that has become more notable following the emergence of regional parties such as the Scottish National Party (SNP) is its favoritism towards parties whose vote is dense and concentrated, in comparison to those whose support is spread across a large geographical area, such as the Brexit Party. In the 2019 Westminster election, the SNP won 48 out of 59 seats in Scotland with only 45% of the popular vote becoming the third largest UK political party, this is because it only campaigned for seats in one part of the UK. By contrast, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) won almost 3.9 million votes in 2015, but only a single seat.
Finally, the ubiquity of 'safe seats' as a side effect of FPTP has been shown to depress voter turnout in many constituencies. An example is ex Prime Minister Theresa May's Maidenhead constituency in Berkshire which has been a conservative since 1885, the safest seat of the 2017 general election was Liverpool Walton, where Labour received 86% of the vote. If a person from either constituency was to vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate for example, it would be highly unlikely for them to see their chosen candidate elected.
2011 Alternative Vote Referendum
However, in 2011 as provision of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition agreement, a referendum was held giving the electorate a choice whether to replace the existing FPTP system with the "alternative vote" (AV).
The proposal to introduce AV was REJECTED by 67.9% of voters on a national turnout of 42%
So why has the FPTP voting system survived for general elections?
The decisive 'no' result of the referendum can perhaps be seen as an endorsement of FPTP, and the low turnout highlights the the electorates apathy towards the issue.
FPTP has survived largely due to the decisive outcomes it produces, this was a major reason why Boris Johnson called the 2019 general election - in order to win a conclusive majority for the Conservative party in order to regain governing efficiency.
The 2011 AV referendum demonstrates that there is little desire for change and how the electorate prefers a pragmatist approach towards our voting system. Ultimately, FPTP is fast and more importantly, familiar.
Written by Conleth Gallagher - Instagram @conlethgallagher_
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