Elections in the United Kingdom

March 15, 2021

Each level of government in the UK has a different electoral system. Here, each system will be looked at individually; covering the voting system and what effects this causes for the result.

The systems covered:

The lower-level systems will also be coveredAlthough probably not in as much detail, as each nation of the UK uses different systems, and in England different systems can be used for each council :

UK Parliament

The UK Parliament AKA Westminster is made up of two houses, the Lords and the Commons. The House of Commons is elected and is made up of representatives from across the whole of the United Kingdom. The House of Lords is less powerful, but is mostly made up appointed members.

House of Commons

The biggest elections in the UK are held for the House of Commons. The country is split up into 650 constituences, which are each represented by a member of Parliament (MP). In general elections, which must be held within 5 years of the previousElections are scheduled for the first Thursday in May for a maximum of a 5-year parliament, although elections can be called earlier , an election takes place in each constituency to elect their MP.

These elections are held using a method called first past the post (FPTP). Each voter has a single vote they use for a single candidate. Simply, the candidate with the most votes wins.

Winning candidates almost always belong to a political party, and the party that wins the the most seats usually forms the Government.

This system usually results in a party getting a majority of seats without a majority of the votes, leading to them not usually needing votes from other parties in a coalition or confidence and supply arrangement, a majoritarian system.

House of Lords

Although never referred to as a democratic system, the House of Lords does currently hold elections in limited circumstancesAnd not very democratic ones .

These elections are only held for the now-limited number of hereditary peers. The previous system allowed for all of these peers to enter the Lords, but this was limited to 90. When a hereditary member of the House of Lords dies or retires, their seat is put up for election.

However, candidates must be a willing hereditary peer and the only voters are other hereditary peers from a groupingThese groupings are three major parties and non-party affiliated, as well as some elected by the whole House .

Uniquely in the UK, the alternative vote, or preferential vote, system is used. This involves the voters ranking the candidates from best to worst. To decide the winner, a candidate needs to get a majority of votes. Votes are first given to the number one choice for each voter, but each round the lowest preferred candidate is eliminated and their voters’ choice is given to their next most-preferred.

Greater London Assembly

The GLA is made up of an executive mayor, and an assembly that holds them to account. Voters must live in London, and can vote for the mayor, a local assembly representative, and contribute to the overall makeup of the assembly.

Mayor of London

The mayor is elected using the supplementary vote system. This is the same as the previous, alternative vote, but voters only get to choose their top two preferences.

Simply, a voter selects a favourite candidate, and can pick a second preference. If no candidate has a majority of votes, all but the top two candidates are eliminated. If these eliminated candidate’s voters selected a second preference, their vote is switched. The remaining candidate with the most votes wins.

This system was the base for all directly elected mayors in combined authorities and some councils.

London Assembly

The assembly is made up of 25 members that are elected by the additional member systemAKA mixed-member proportional, due to the two systems used . Voters have two votes, they vote for their local candidate in one of the fourteen constituences as well as for a political groupUsually a party such as Labour or Conservative . This second vote aims to create a proportional outcome.

The constituency vote uses the same FPTP system as a UK-wide general election. The candidate with the most votes wins, and the party of the winner is also important.

The londonwide party vote is used to calculate how many extra members should be elected from each party. The D’Hondt method is used to allocate the remaining eleven seats, using the number of votes from the party vote, and the results of the constituency vote. This method aims to create a proportional results by giving a remaining seat to the least represented party, which is repeated to fill the eleven seats.

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament AKA Holyrood uses a similar additional member system as the London Assembly, but an executive is elected from the parliament instead of through a seperate direct election.

This proportional system means that is difficult for a party to gain a majority of the seats, so coalition or confidence and supply arrangements are more common.

Unlike the London Assembly’s single party list, eight separate regions select their additional members.

A voter has two votes, firstly electing a single candidate from each of the 73 constituences. Their second vote is for a party in their region. The D’Hondt method is then used for each region, considering the party vote and the results of the constituences in the region to elect seven more members, totalling 129 over the two methods.

Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament

The Senedd uses the same system as the Scottish Parliament, including the single member constituencies and regional lists.

The forty constituences and five regions of four members each lead to a total of sixty members.

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly has a unique election system and governing structure.

To elect the members, the single transferable vote method is used. Northern Ireland is split into eighteen constituencies, each electing five members. A voter can rank each candidate in order of preference.

The winners are chosen by reaching a threshold of votes, approximately one sixth of the votes to be elected. Candidates that reach the threshold are elected, and extra votes are distributed to their voters’ next preferences. When no candidates have enough votes, the candidate with the smallest amount of votes is eliminated and their votes redistributed until all seats are filledIf the threshold is not reached, candidates with the most votes are elected .

This system results in a proportional result, allowing multiple candidates running for each party without splitting the voteThis might not be exactly true .

Power is shared between the Unionist and Nationalist blocs, and the D’Hondt method is used to allocate the number of ministers for each party. The mandatory coalition means all large parties can be represented in the government.

Members must also designate themself as either Nationalist, Unionist, or other, which can be used to force down votes that do not get support from both the Nationalist and Unionist blocs.

Elections in the United Kingdom - March 15, 2021 - Samual Black