How Far Does the Westminster Electoral System Ensure Strong and Stable Government? (25 Marks)

853 Words4 Pages
First Past the Post is the electoral system used in west minister during the general elections. It is a simple Pluralist system, meaning the party that acquires most of the seats are invited by the monarch to form a Government i.e. a part does not need to acquire the majority of the Votes. In FPTP the country is divide into 650 constituents, several candidates run for different parties, each individual gets one vote. FPTP ensures a strong and stable government in the UK; however, FPTP can sometimes fail to do so. First Past the Post ensures there is a strong a stable Government by, guaranteeing a party will receive the majority of seats in an election more than 90% of the time. For example; in the history of election outcomes in the UK, there has only been two occasions when a party failed to gain more than 50% of seats. This situation occurred in 2010 when the Tories gained 306 seats, and formed a coalition with the Lib Dems. In 1979 Labour Party under the Leadership of Wilson gained 301 seats and ended up forming a coalition with the Liberals in 1976. Evidence from past elections illustrates that FPTP delivers a strong and stable Government by ensuring a party gets the majority of seats in the House of Commons. To further emphasize my argument; FPTP ensures a strong Government by ensuring a government is capable of running a full-term of 5 Years, making them able to implement their economic and social plans. For example; Thatcher was able to implement her new radical policies of Monetarism due to having strong majority in the commons and as a result the opposition were not able to vote a ‘no confidence’. For example, Thatcher during her time in office between 1979 to 1983, she and her government were able to implement their policies; i.e. two employment acts were passed in 1980 and 1982 that aimed in reducing union power. This illustrates that FPTP make sure
Open Document