Two-party politics

Every five years, British people over the age of 18 can vote in a general election. People vote for the candidate they want in their constituency (region). The candidate who wins becomes the MP in the House of Commons, even if he or she gets only one vote more than the candidate who is second. This is called the first-past-the-post system. The first-past-the-post electoral system in Britain usually makes two parties powerful, while smaller parties do not have many MPs. Since the 1920s, the two main parties have been the left-wing Labour Party and the right-wing Conservative Party.

The Liberal Democrats are not happy with the first-past-the-post electoral system. This is because it is a party, which does not win many seats in Parliament, but comes second in many constituencies. It would prefer 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 of the country. When British people vote in European Union elections, there is a proportional representation system.

1

Draw a diagram of the most important chamber in your country. Is it a semi-circle? Compare it with the shape of the House of Commons.

2

a  Compare the percentage of Liberal Democrat MPs with the percentage of people that voted for them. How many Liberal Democrat MPs would there be in the House of Commons, if Britain had a system of proportional representation?

b  What electoral system does your country have?

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain; Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 15