8. Electoral system

The British people have always prided themselves on their electoral system believing it to be one of the most democratic. It is known as a majority system, now often called “first-past-the-post” one. The foundation of the British electoral system is the single-member constituency. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, each one of which elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to sit in the House of Commons. Each MP represents 66000 electors. A person may represent a constituency even if he does not live there.

Any number of candidates can stand for election in each constituency. The winner is the candidate who gets more votes than any other single candidate, even if the difference is only one vote. This “first-past-the-post” system is simple, clear and familiar, but it means that sometimes the elected candidate, who comes second, even very close to the winner, gets nothing.

The weakness of the electoral system was revealed in the 1980s when the conservatives enjoyed a large majority in the commons although at the elections of 1979, 1983 and 1987 more people voted against the conservative Party than for it. In 1987 the Liberal/ SDP Alliance received 23.1 per cent of the total vote but won only 22 seats (3,5 per cent) in Parliament.

General Elections in Britain are held every 5 years, as every Parliament (and Government accordingly) is elected for this term. The Prime Minister chooses the date of the next General Elections, but does not have to wait until the end of the five years. A time is chosen which will give as much advantage as possible to the political party in power.

About a month before the election the Prime Minister meets a small group of close advisors to discuss the date, which would best suit the party. The date is announced to the cabinet. The prime Minister asks the Queen to dissolve the Parliament. Once Parliament is dissolved, all MPs are unemployed.

Party manifestos are published and campaigning begins throughout the country lasting for about three weeks with large scale press, radio and television coverage.

Voting takes place on Polling Day (usually a Thursday). MPs are elected by direct and secret ballots. Citizens of 18 and over have the right to vote (except prisoners, lords and mentally ill). Vote is not compulsory and about 75 per cent of the electorate take part in general elections. On Election Day, the voters go to the polling station and record their votes by placing records against their candidate’s name on the list and place the paper in a ballot-box. Some people vote by proxy. The election officials count up the number of votes and the Returning Officer announces the elected candidate. The candidate in a constituency who gains most votes is returned as member to the Commons.

If an MP resigns, dies or is made a peer during lifetime of a Parliament, a by-election must be held in the constituency (which he represents) to elect a new member.

No candidate requires the backing of a political party in order to stand for election, but today no independent candidates succeed in being elected. MPs are chosen by the constituency branch of the party from a list of suitable candidates issued by the headquarters.

The two party dominance has existed since 18^th century and both dominating parties have constant supporters. About 1/3 of the people vote for Labour Party candidates all the time, another third for the Conservatives. The first-past-the post electoral system in Britain promotes and maintains the dominance of the leading parties at the expense of the small ones.

The Liberal Democrats, a center party, are against the current first-past-the post electoral system. This is because, though they come second in many constituencies, they cannot win many seats in parliament. They campaign for a system of proportional representation, in which the number of MPs is based on the number of people who vote for a party in the whole country.