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1

What elections in the UK use the system use STV?

Northern Ireland Assembly and local authorities in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

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2

What is the connection between a UK General Election and the composition of a UK government?

The UK government must possess the confidence of the House of Commons, the elected chamber of the UK Parliament.

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3

How is the integrity of elections in the UK protected?

• Representation of the People Act 1983; Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 are the central pieces of legislation
• Electoral Commission carries out a monitoring and reporting role
• Various spending regulations and prohibitions on certain forms of conduct
• Rules applying to the Civil Service and government ministers to ensure public resources are not improperly deployed to influence the result

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4

What are the main subjects of disagreement about the UK electoral system?

• The age at which people should be allowed to vote, and whether it should be lowered from 18 to 16 in all cases
• Equalisation of the size of UK parliamentary constituencies measure in number of voters should be equalised
• The appropriate electoral system to use for the House of Commons
• The proper role of the Electoral Commission

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5

How inclusive is the UK electoral system?

• Most adults have the right to vote.
• People aged 16 and 17 do not have the right to vote in most elections
• The FPTP electoral system is arguably a limitation on inclusiveness because it leads to wasted votes.
• Some commentators object to the presently unequal size of parliamentary constituencies because it gives different votes different weight.
• Not everyone uses their right to vote; and some – generally already more privileged – social groups are more likely to vote than others.
• The profile of those elected as representatives is not as diverse as that of those they serve.

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6

What does the past development of the UK electoral system tell us about its operation today and its future prospects?

• FPTP with single member constituencies was not always the system employed for UK general elections. But single-member FPTP has been the predominant system at UK level, and the only system since the 1950 General Election
• The public decisively rejected a move away from FPTP a referendum in 2011, though the choice on offer was between FPTP and AV, neither of which were proportional systems
• Since the 1970s, multiple electoral systems of a more proportional nature have been employed below the level of the UK Parliament
• Many other ongoing debates beyond the particular voting system, such as constituency boundaries, have proved remarkably long-lasting