Topic updates

Electoral systems

Mike McCartney

1st August 2021

Massive new report by the Electoral Reform Society highlights unfairness of first past the post

The killer stat from the report from the ERS analysing the impact of 20 years of proportionally based electoral systems is that the system used (AMS) for electing MSPs to the Scottish Parliament is "four times fairer" than that used for Westminster.

According to the (Glasgow) Herald:

"Westminster’s first past the post voting system is “failing” Scotland, with millions of votes “ignored”, campaigners have said.

Elections to the Scottish Parliament deliver results which are almost four times more reflective of voters’ choices than polls for Westminster, a report by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) has claimed.

The report revealed a 'huge chasm' between elections for the proportionally-elected Scottish Parliament list seats compared to the House of Commons – with voters securing a ‘fair votes bonus’ in representation under PR."

Article is here: https://www.heraldscotland.com...

The full reports from the ERS can be found here: https://www.electoral-reform.o...

Mike McCartney

Mike is an experienced A-Level Politics teacher, author and examiner.

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