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The British Electoral System

             'The First Past the Post electoral system for elections to the House of Commons is in urgent need of reform'. Discuss.
             The electoral system of the House of Commons has become a key issue in British party politics in recent decades. It has come to light that the First Past the Post voting system traditionally used in the 'Golden era' of a two party system is failing to achieve the objectives its defenders attribute it to. The 2010 general election produced the first hung parliament since 1974 which lead to the formation of a conservative- liberal democrat government which no one voted for making it undemocratic. Not only does FPTP fail to be fair to third parties competing in general elections by causing great discrepancies between the number of votes secured and the proportion of seats won in the house of commons, FPTP can no longer claim to guarantee 'strong single party government' it used to. This is crucial as it indicates that FPTP is failing on its own terms. .
             The wider issues that concern FPTP are the long term voting trends that have allowed for the emergence and support of third parties. In spite of the FPTP system, the rising support for third parties is a growing trend as highlighted by the growing support for UKIP. A surge in support for third parties such as UKIP and liberal democrats indicates that the FPTP is unable to facilitate such a change on the basis of being unfair and unrepresentative. It is clear that times are changing and that we are moving out of a two party era and towards a multi-party politics. This discussion will look at how urgently the electoral system needs to be reformed based on the changing attitudes of voters and change in circumstances that suggest that FPTP is no longer fit for its purpose. In spite of the arguments against FPTP, no electoral system is perfect and the defense of this system must also be weighed up in order to come to a suitable conclusion as to whether reform is necessary.


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