Voting in Scotland LI: To find out about different voting systems and their advantages and disadvantages

Voting Anyone registered over 16 can now vote in Scotland except those who are in prison, mentally ill, members of the Royal Family, visitors or members of the House of Lords. Voting has declined – apathy. People are disillusioned with politics.

Voting in Scotland Previously, there was only one system – First past the post. Counting up the votes in each constituency – most constituencies win. This system has been criticised for being unrepresentative – bias towards larger parties. Even if a party came second in every constituency, they could receive no representation. Therefore, the Scottish Parliament uses AMS – to have a more proportionate result. Local Governments in Scotland use STV.

The facts… Voting Systems in the UK The British electoral system used to elect MPs to the House of Commons is known as ‘First Past the Post’ The voting system used to elect MSPs to the Scottish Parliament is called the Additional Member System (AMS) Local councils in Scotland (from 2007) are elected by a system called the Single Transferable Vote (STV)

First Past the Post is the system used to elect MPs in the House of Commons. The candidate who gets the most votes in the constituency becomes MP. The candidate only has to get one more vote than the next candidate to win. Each MP has a seat in the House of Commons There are 650 seats (one for each constituency) The political party with a majority of MPs becomes the government. The party with the second highest number of seats becomes the opposition. An overall majority in the house of commons is when the government has more seats than all the other parties added together. If the winning party does not achieve an overall majority – they can form a coalition to achieve a strong, stable government (2010 – Cons & Lib Dem)

Advantages FPTP is a simple system that people understand. This means more people will choose to vote, so the result is more democratic. Voters cast a vote directly for candidate of their choice Everyone knows who their MP is. This means people know who to see and so feel well represented e.g. Frank Doran in Aberdeen North. FPTP usually produces a majority government. This means the government will be able to make sure its manifesto promises are kept. System has been tried and tested over the years

More than half the people do not have to vote for the winning candidate in a constituency This means most people do not feel well represented.  E.g. Alan Reid in Argyll and Bute won with only 29% of the vote (2001). System favours larger parties – Conservatives and Labour Many votes are wasted – only one more needed to win Governments are usually elected with less than half the vote  e.g. in 2001 Labour won only 42%. This means most people in Britain do not feel represented by the Government. Number of seats does not represent percentage of votes A party can come second in many constituencies getting hundreds of votes but receive few or no seats Disadvantages

Clips and questions to discuss… stm stm – Why do the Liberal Democrats want to change the electoral system? – Why did the Liberal Democrats win so little seats when they had nearly a fifth of the votes? – Nick Clegg talks about ‘safe’ seats under FPTP. What are safe seats and why does he see them as a problem? – Nick Clegg says that a new electoral system would make politics in the UK ‘fairer’. Do you agree?

Task Stick in the Advantages and Disadvantages of FPTP sheet

Today we will… Describe how AMS works Explain the advantages and disadvantages of this electoral system

Proportional Representation Proportional Representation is the name given to different types of voting systems They try to share out seats in proportion to votes received The simplest form of PR is the PARTY LIST SYSTEM – here parties produce a list of candidates and voters vote for a party, not a candidate. The TOTAL votes for each party is combined, and seats shared out proportionally (equally)

Why is AMS used? One of the key reasons AMS is used is to ensure a more proportional result. The number of MSPs a political party has in the Scottish Parliament is broadly in line with the percentage of votes they secure. The proportionality element AMS has is that it allows voters to vote twice, once for their constituency MSP and then again for a party in their region. Percentage of Seats = Percentage of Votes

On the first ballot there is a LIST OF PARTIES… On the second ballot there is a LIST OF CANDIDATES (like first past the post…) Voters DO NOT have to vote for the same party on the two ballots… They can mix and match!

The first vote is used to elect the constituency MSPs and is calculated in the same format as FPTP – the candidate with the most votes in the constituency wins the seat The second vote is used to elect the 7 regional MSPs. Using their second vote, voters cast their vote for a political party – there are no candidate names.

As well as providing more proportional results, the creators of the Scottish Parliament hoped AMS would result in the election of a more diverse set of MSPs, allowing parties who had some support in the country to have representation in the Scottish Parliament.

Smaller Parties The Scottish Greens have been successful in having MSPs elected in the 2011 Scottish Election. In earlier elections the Scottish Socialist Party were successful in winning seats via the regional list vote. There have also been independent MSPs (e.g. Margo MacDonald) elected who were not affiliated to any political party.

Research Sheet Final one due in to me on Tuesday before the Added value – the 8 th. You can’t sit it without this. This is 25% of your overall mark.

Coalition Governments The Scottish Parliament founders believed that under the AMS, it would take exceptional circumstances for any one party to win an overall majority. However in 2011 the SNP won a majority of seats.

Coalition Governments The first two Scottish elections in 1999 and 2003 resulted in Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats forming a coalition government. At these elections Labour won the most seats and had the most MSPs but did not have an overall majority. It therefore chose to enter into coalitions with the Scottish Liberal Democrats in order to secure power. In some cases Scottish Labour had to compromise on policies.

All stitched up: Jim Wallace and Donald Dewar sign their coalition agreement in 1999

Donald Dewer, Henry McLeish and Jack McConnel

2003 Scottish Parliament

Additional Members System At the 2007 election the SNP won the most votes and seats but was unable to obtain an overall majority of MSPs. Unlike Labour, the SNP decided to form a minority government. In order to pass legislation, the SNP had to depend on other parties and secured support on an 'issue by issue' basis.

Scottish Labour is the official opposition party with 37 MSPs. The Scottish Conservatives are third with 15 and the Scottish Liberal Democrats fourth, with five. The Scottish Greens have two MSPs - both of whom were elected via the regional list and until her recent passing, there was one independent MSP, Margo MacDonald. The SNP's success in 2011 meant that for the first time ever in the Scottish Parliament, a single party has an overall parliamentary majority with most seats. The SNP has the power to have its key policies implemented.

However, the SNP administration it is subject to the same parliamentary scrutiny as all the previous administrations. The Scottish Parliament's committees and other features such as First Minister's Questions ensure that legislation is carefully considered. The next Scottish parliament election will take place on Thursday 5th May 2016.

Activities 1.Stick the ‘Key points’, ballot paper and AMS PEE task into your jotter. 2. Answer questions 1 and 2 on your worksheet. 3. Explain the differences between First Past The Post and Additional Member System (AMS).

Practice Question 12 minutes Explain, in detail, the advantages and disadvantages of AMS 6

Model Answer One advantage of AMS is that it is a more proportional system. This means there will be a closer link between the share of votes and the share of seats. Since there are two votes, it avoids a winner takes all result that would happen under FPTP. For example, in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the Scottish Conservatives gained 13% of the votes and 12% of the seats. This is seen by many as being fairer to voters as the number of MSPs will reflect the party’s popularity

Another advantage of the system is the greater choice it offers voters. Under AMS, voters cast a vote on two ballot papers. One vote is for a constituency MSP and the other is for a regional MSP. On the first paper they will vote for an individual MSP and on the second they will vote for a party. By doing this, smaller parties such as The Greens gain can representation in parliament. For example, in the 2011 Scottish Election the Green party won 2 seats, where as under FPTP it would have been 0.

However, a disadvantage of AMS is that it usually results in a coalition government. A Labour-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government led the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and Many people see this as a disadvantage because the government’s policies have to be renegotiated after the election and so the original policies which people voted for are sometimes not carried out.

Another disadvantage of AMS is that it can be confusing for voters to understand. They have two votes to complete – one for an individual candidate, and one for a party. They may get confused and fill in the ballot incorrectly, which may lead to spoilt votes. For example, in the 2007 election, 3.5% of votes were spoilt.

Task Use page 54 of course notes textbook to take notes on examples of more advantages and disadvantages of STV. Try to add to the points you already have.

Group Task Get yourselves into 3 groups Your task is to make a poster on: – AMS – STV – FPTP You have 20 minutes! Success Criteria: You must briefly explain how the system works Advantages and Disadvantages (use examples) You can use course notes books, how to pass, democracy in Scotland booklets and your jotters.

Task You must now teach each other about your poster. You have 2 minutes to present it to the class.

Activity You have been asked to create an Introduction to Voting leaflet for first time voters in Scottish Parliament elections. You must include: – An introduction to elections – what is their purpose? – An overview of a polling station – How to vote using the Additional Members System – Any other information you think might be important to first time voters.

Single Transferable Vote

Learning Intentions What you will learn Describe how STV works Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using STV in the Scottish Local Elections. How you will learn this Group discussion and class discussion Reading ‘Advantages and Disadvantages’ resource sheet Answering exam based question

What is STV? 2007 marked the first time the Single Transferable Vote (STV) voting system was used to elect Local Councillors in Scotland. This followed criticisms that some councils in Scotland were dominated by a single party. Using a form of PR, not FPTP, it would be fairer and all parties would be better represented. It is hoped that more people will turn out to vote. However, it will lead to coalitions running many Scottish councils.

How does STV work? STV uses multi-member constituencies of 3 or 4 councillors per ward. Each party selects a number of candidates to be elected. Voters rank their preferred candidate(s) in order of preference.

To be elected a candidate needs to reach a set number of votes also known as a quota. The candidate with the least votes drops out and their votes are reallocated to the voters’ second choices until the required number of candidates (3 or 4) have reached the quota and are elected. Using STV ensures there are far fewer wasted votes.

Only five councils in Scotland are now controlled by one party and 27 councils have no one party in control. Many councils have formed coalitions or partnership agreements. This will no doubt make it difficult to get things passed if there is not agreement among the parties.

Activity In groups think about the advantages and disadvantages of AMS that you have previously looked at…. Now make a list of advantages and disadvantages of STV Be prepared to share these with the class

Stick the Advantages and Disadvantages of STV into your jotter.

Past Paper Question Homework due next week Explain, in detail, the advantages and disadvantages of Single Transferable Vote 8 marks

Answers may include…