1. Electoral Reform AV referendum and PR Joy Johnson week 5

2. Electoral systems – key texts Morrison, essential public affairs for journalists ch. 4 King, British constitution Laws, 22 Days in May Renwick, a citizen’s guide to electoral reform Kavanagh & Cowley, the British General Election of 2010 Various papers inc: John Curtice, Parliamentary Affairs, Vol. 63 No. 4, 2010, 623–638 Monica Threlfall, Purpose of Electoral Reform, Political Quarterly Vol 81, No 4 + her website has various papers on AV

3. Labour defend their position Conservatives didn’t win a majority - result a hung Parliament UK polarised – Conservative in the South, Labour in the North and Scotland the strongest argument of the supporters of First Past the Post (winner takes all) that it produces clear government majorities has failed NB. Similarly PR which was meant to stop a clear victor failed in Scotland with majority SNP administration

4. Day after the night before Clegg addressed media following the 2010 general election With no outright winner he tells reporters that he would talk to the Conservatives as they had the most votes He declared that this election showed that the present system is broken Love-in in the Downing Street Garden

7. Result of 2005 UK Gen Election Party %votes No of seats % seats Labour 35.3 356 55.1 Con 32.3 198 30.7 Lib Dem 22.1 62 9.6 Other 10.3 30 4.6

8. Result Labour’s majority reduced from 2001 yet the party achieved 55 per cent share of H of C seats with just 35 per cent of the national vote. Majority of the seats with a minority of the votes

12. 2010 election NB Conservatives now have one MP in Scotland

14. Majoritarian systems Term used to classify candidates who win by obtaining majority of votes cast (first past the post can result in candidates winning on fewer than half the total votes cast)

15. Types of majoritarian Supplementary vote – used in London Mayoral election If only two candidates first past the post used More than two Votes cast on preference 1 st and 2 nd choice If candidate wins more than half (majority) he or she elected If not others drop out and their 2 nd preference redistributed

17. Alternative Vote (AV) Lib Dems compromise to get the agreement Referendum 5 May 2011 Referendum on AV had been in Labour 2010 manifesto Preferential not proportional All candidates ranked in order When all votes cast if one candidate has won over 50% elected If not candidate with the fewer first preference is eliminated and his or her are redistributed Last candidate eliminated Eventually candidate with more than 50% wins More than 50% produces legitimacy Least unpopular wins Elector’s first choice not counted

18. AV cont Still has single member constituency Shouldn’t produce extremist parties Result of this system would be the election of many candidates who were not the first choice of most of the electorate Leading to least common denominator of the electorate Nick Clegg in the past had called it a ‘miserable little compromise’ but this was before the coalition government This statement came back to haunt him and was used against him during the referendum Political parties still retain power to chose candidates

20. Proportional Representation In systems of proportional representation, every party provides a list of candidates for selection on a regional or national basis. These lists may be open or closed: an open list means electors have the ability to indicate some preference over which of the candidates they choose from the party list; a closed list means electors must vote for the party as a whole and the list is presented to them as a fait accompli. Each party standing for election wins seats in accordance with the proportion of votes it receives. A closed list system is used for European parliamentary elections.

33. London Assembly – 2008 election

35. Referendum on AV 5 May 2011 Tories favoured first past the post So did most Labour MPs although Miliband supported AV Lib Dems got the referendum as part of coalition agreement trading They didn’t get a commitment that officially they wouldn’t vigorously campaign against it p23 Baston and Ritchie Don’t Take No For An Answer By the time of the referendum Lib Dem brand had become contaminated First past the post fought ruthless personal campaign

36. Why did AV campaigners lose UK 2010 general election produced coalition on first past the post Referendum held on the same day as other elections Turn out high Fear of change People didn’t see the necessity for changing how we vote FPTP – played up cost of change

37. AV campaigners failed AV campaigners failed to understand that they needed to fight and win a single issue campaign, not an election. No to AV camp had the easier task. No-ers didn’t have to win the case for first past the post (FPTP) – they simply had to convince people the case for AV was unproven.

38. Clegg factor The ‘No’ campaign ramped up the fear factor, pumped up the volume of their indignation, exaggerated the threat of AV, and personified the enemy. Vote no, or get Nick Clegg – forever. Save the world from Clegg.

39. Electoral Reform/Parliamentary reform PR off the agenda for years Boundary changes Reduction in the number of MPs Fixed term Parliaments Open primaries Conservatives tried these at the last election (Dr Wolloston MP for Totness) House of Lords reform going through Parliament

41. House of Lords reform Pursued by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg Labour’s leader in the Lords, Lady Royall warns in Guardian 9 Feb, 2012 that if it becomes centre piece of the next Queen’s Speech they will not be able to scrutinise any other bills

42. David Steel Private members’ bill To allow for the House to expel peers and early retirements to help reduce the Lords’ hefty numbers.

43. Tensions between Govt and Lords Significant number of defeats for govt on welfare Bill – govt introduced ‘financial privilege’ Defeats also on Health and Social Care Bill Conservatives appointing more coalition lords to avoid further defeats in the Lords

44. Stages of the Bill http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010- 12/houseoflordsreformhl.html http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010- 12/houseoflordsreformhl.html

45. seminars Different types of voting systems Voting day House of Lords reform