Name of the
electoral system used to elect
Members to the main house (
House of Commons) in
the
Westminster UK Parliament. Otherwise know as
Simple Plurality.
A
nation using this system divides itself into
geographical areas called
constituencies that have roughly the same number of
citizens (
constituents)
living in each. Come
election time, a set of
candidates stand in each
constituency, either
for a
political party or
independently. The
voter is faced with a
list of these
candidates
and chooses one.
The candidate who wins the constituency is simply the one who has most votes.
The
winner of each
constituency is made a
Member of Parliament. The
leader of the
party
with the most
Members of Parliament is made the
Prime Minister - the head of the
Government.
Advantages of the
system are that it produces
strong government, is simple to
execute
and
understand and that it maintains a strong
constituency/
MP link. Disadvantages are that
it is entirely
disproportionate and that people
feel that their
votes are
wasted (hence
they don't
vote).
FPTP is a
very old system, based on ideas of
democracy that no longer really apply. This is
why it is only used here in the
UK, a very old '
democracy' and why there is quite a strong
electoral reform movement.