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This is the name given to the system used to decide which MPs will represent us in
the UK Parliament
First-Past-The-Post
Remember the UK is split into 650
constituencies. The people in each
constituency get to vote for their MP.
Therefore, we have 650 MPs
in total.
Using First-Past-The-Post you
have only 1 vote. You put an X next to the candidate you want to win and represent
you.
Using First-Past-The-Post, the candidate with the most votes will become the MP.
Name Party Votes % +/-
Eric Joyce Labour 23,207 45.7 -5.1
John McNally Scottish National Party 15,364 30.3 +8.9
Katie Mackie Conservative 5,698 11.2 +1.3
Kieran Leach Liberal Democrat 5,225 10.3 -5.7
Brian Goldie UK Independence Party 1,283 2.5 +2.5
Majority 7,843 15.4
Turnout 50,777 62.0 +2.4
Above are the results for the Falkirk constituency in the 2010 elections.
You can see that Eric Joyce got more votes than the others so he won!
Name Party Votes % +/-
Eric Joyce Labour 23,207 45.7 -5.1
John McNally Scottish National Party 15,364 30.3 +8.9
Katie Mackie Conservative 5,698 11.2 +1.3
Kieran Leach Liberal Democrat 5,225 10.3 -5.7
Brian Goldie UK Independence Party 1,283 2.5 +2.5
Majority 7,843 15.4
Turnout 50,777 62.0 +2.4
This majority is the difference in votes between the winning candidate and second place.
This process is repeated all over the UK until we have
650 MPs.They either represent a
political party or are independent.
Name Party Votes % +/-
Eric Joyce Labour 23,207 45.7 -5.1
John McNally Scottish National Party 15,364 30.3 +8.9
Katie Mackie Conservative 5,698 11.2 +1.3
Kieran Leach Liberal Democrat 5,225 10.3 -5.7
Brian Goldie UK Independence Party 1,283 2.5 +2.5
Majority 7,843 15.4
Turnout 50,777 62.0 +2.4
What’s good about F-P-T-P?
It’s a really simple system. It’s easy for people to vote (just put an ‘X’ in the box) for the candidate you want to
represent you.
‘The Count’ is really simple too and mistakes are less likely to happen. All
they have to do is allocate the individual vote to a specific candidate.
You don’t have to wait a long time for the result to be declared. As the system is so simple, the winning
candidates can often be declared within a few hours. You usually don’t have to wait until the next day which is
the case with some voting systems.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8661531.stm
You get to vote for a specific candidate who you know will represent you. In some voting
systems, you don’t know who you are voting for – it may just be a part you are voting for.
Is this fair?
You can be elected with less than half the votes
How fair is that?
Name Party Votes % +/-
Eric Joyce Labour 23,207 45.7 -5.1
John McNally Scottish National Party 15,364 30.3 +8.9
Katie Mackie Conservative 5,698 11.2 +1.3
Kieran Leach Liberal Democrat 5,225 10.3 -5.7
Brian Goldie UK Independence Party 1,283 2.5 +2.5
Majority 7,843 15.4
Turnout 50,777 62.0 +2.4
Lots of votes are basically ignored.
Roughly 27,000 votes went to people other than Eric Joyce. However, those ballot papers
are ‘binned’.
Name Party Votes % +/-
Eric Joyce Labour 23,207 45.7 -5.1
John McNally Scottish National Party 15,364 30.3 +8.9
Katie Mackie Conservative 5,698 11.2 +1.3
Kieran Leach Liberal Democrat 5,225 10.3 -5.7
Brian Goldie UK Independence Party 1,283 2.5 +2.5
Majority 7,843 15.4
Turnout 50,777 62.0 +2.4
Votes for smaller parties could be considered a waste of time because they have little chance of
winning any constituencies.
Unless they manage to win constituency (which means a seat in Parliament) they’ll have no chance of
success.
Name Party Votes % +/-
Eric Joyce Labour 23,207 45.7 -5.1
John McNally Scottish National Party 15,364 30.3 +8.9
Katie Mackie Conservative 5,698 11.2 +1.3
Kieran Leach Liberal Democrat 5,225 10.3 -5.7
Brian Goldie UK Independence Party 1,283 2.5 +2.5
Majority 7,843 15.4
Turnout 50,777 62.0 +2.4
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