electoral system in great britain.pptx

8/11/2019 electoral system in great britain.pptx

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There are six types of election in the United Kindom:

Generalelections

Local

elections

Elections toEuropean

Parliament

Police and CrimeCommissioner

eletions

Mayoralelections

Elections todevolvedparliaments

andassemblies


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History:King Henry VI of England established in 1432 that

only male owners of property worth at least fortyshillings, a significant sum, were entitled to vote in acounty. Changes were made to the details of the system,but there was no major reform until the Reform Act1832. It was not until 1918 that all men over 21, andwealthy women won the right to vote, and it was notuntil 1928 that all women over 21 won the right to vote.Suffrage in the United Kingdom was slowly changedover the course of the 19th and 20th centuries through

the use of the Reform Acts and the Representation ofthe People Acts, culminating in universal suffrage,excluding children and convicted prisoners.


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Election Day:Elections are held on Election Day, which is

conventionally a Thursday. General elections did nothave fixed dates, with a necessity for them to be calledwithin five years of the opening of parliamentfollowing the last election, before the passing of the

Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Other elections areheld on fixed dates, though in the case of the devolvedassemblies and parliaments early elections can occurin certain situations


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Electoral systems now used acrossthe United Kingdom are:

The First Past the Post system is used for UK general elections,and also for some local government elections in England and

Wales.

The Bloc Vote system is also used for some localgovernment elections in England and Wales.

The Additional Member System is used for elections tothe Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and London Assembly.

The Single Transferable Vote system is used in Northern Irelandto elect the Assembly, local councils, and Members of theEuropean Parliament, and in Scotland to elect local councils.

The Party List System is used for European Parliament electionsin England, Scotland and Wales.

The Supplementary Vote is used to elect directly electedmayors in England, such as the Mayor of London.


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Overview:Before you can vote in UK elections or referendums you

need to register to vote. Your name and address will thenappear on the electoral register.

You can vote:

at a polling station

by post

by proxy (getting someone else to vote for you)

You can register at 16, but you cant vote until youre 18.

When theres a local election coming up, youll be senta poll card telling you where and when to vote.


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General electionsIn a UK parliamentary general election, registered voters in

every area of the country vote for an MP to represent them in the

House of Commons. There are 650 geographical areas - these arecalled constituencies.You can vote in a UK parliamentary general election if youre

registered to vote and: aged 18 or over on polling day

a British citizen, Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the IrishRepublic not legally excluded from voting

You cantvote in a UK parliamentary general election if you are: under 18

a member of the House of Lords a European Union citizen (and not also a British, Irish or

Commonwealth citizen) in prison (apart from remand prisoners).


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Local elections You can vote in a UK local government election if youre registered to vote and: aged 18 or over on polling day; British, Irish or a Commonwealth or European Union citizen living in the UK; not legally excluded from voting (eg because youre in prison).Voting in more than one local election: If you spend time living in 2 different local authority areas (because youre a

student), you may be able to vote in both. If you want to register at 2 addresses, make 2 separate applications through

the register to vote service. The local Electoral Registration Office will look at

each application and tell you whether youre allowed to register.How local elections work:Local elections take place at least every 4 years. There are several types

because local authorities are organised in different ways.Depending on whereyou live, either:

all of the councillors are elected every 4 years; half of the councillors are elected every 2 years; a third of the councillors are elected every year for 3 years, with no elections in

the 4th year.


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European electionsElections for the European Parliament take place every

5 years. The last European elections were in May2014.There are 751 Members of the EuropeanParliament (MEPs), and 73 represent the UK. The UKis divided into 12 regions, and each region has between

3 and 10 MEPs.

electoral system in great britain.pptx

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