How UK elections work: First past the post vs proportional representation explained

The UK general election has thrown the spotlight on the electoral system because the result was “the most disproportional on record”, according to Darren Hughes, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society.

He said: “We have already had a growing chorus of calls for PR [proportional representation] in the aftermath.”

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK Party leader and MP for Clacton, said the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was unfair because his party took 14.3 per cent of the vote — making it the third biggest by vote share — but it won only five seats.

The Green Party received 6.8 per cent of the vote and won four seats.

Some experts argue that PR has produced more social democratic politics in Wales and Scotland.

However, others disagree with PR and say it could cause an increase in extremist politics, as has happened in some European countries.

Meanwhile, the new Labour prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has named the Cabinet, with Rachel Reeves becoming the UK's first female chancellor.

Angela Rayner has been made deputy prime minister, Yvette Cooper has become home secretary and David Lammy is foreign secretary.

The mayoral and general elections in the UK are decided using first past the post (FPTP), which electoral reform campaigners have long objected to.

But how do these voting systems work — and which is the best way to elect our representatives?

What is first-past-the-post and how does the voting system work?

FPTP makes a slip of paper in a polling station mean something. For most elections in England and Wales, voters choose one candidate listed on a ballot paper.

The candidate with the most votes wins and becomes MP. In this system, there is no such thing as second and third-place choices on the ballot paper; the winner takes all.

FPTP can mean people vote for a party they don’t support to try to keep a particular candidate out.

Each party only fields one candidate, so voters sometimes have to weigh an individual they favour over a party they support.

Tactical voting is common under FPTP, where people vote for a particular candidate to help another party win to avoid being represented by someone they dislike.

How many seats are needed for a majority in the UK?

In Britain, the House of Commons has 650 seats, and one party needs to win just over half — 326 — to secure a majority and be able to form a government.

If no party manages to cross this line, a hung parliament results. Then the party with the most MPs may try to take power as a minority government, or parties may try to form a coalition among themselves or another general election could be called.

What is proportional representation?

PR is an electoral system in which the distribution of seats corresponds closely with the proportion of the total votes cast for each party. Therefore, if a party gained 40 per cent of the total votes, a perfectly proportional system would give them 40 per cent of the seats.

Why do some people want PR? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Tracy Brabin said that “power cannot be hoarded in government departments”. Proportional representation would mean voting is better reflected. “Under PR systems the number of seats in parliament reflects the number of votes cast overall in elections,” said the Independent.

It would also mean fewer “wasted votes”. In 2019, the Electoral Reform Society found that more than 22 million votes (70.8 per cent) were “ignored because they went to non-elected candidates or were surplus to what the elected candidate needed” to win the seat.

However, proportional representation could mean that local issues receive less attention. Under this system, electoral constituencies would have to be bigger to have multiple seats to fill proportionately, which could mean some problems get overlooked.

What other voting systems are there?

In using FPTP, Westminster is joined by the US Congress, Canada, India and many former British colonies in Africa and the Caribbean. But other countries use different systems.

Proportional voting

Most countries use proportional voting systems. These have a more direct impact on the result, so one-third of votes for a single party would correspond to one-third of seats in parliament.

Alternative vote

One different system — albeit not proportional — is the alternative vote (AV), where ballot papers have second and third favourites. A candidate has to get 50 per cent of votes or more to win. If neither candidate has more than 50 per cent of votes the top two compete in a second round runoff.

Tactical voting is less necessary under AV, as an unpopular candidate cannot win simply through the vote being split between several parties, as in FPTP.

AV is used to select the chairs of most Commons committees, and key votes in the House of Lords.

Supplementary vote

Mayors in England and Wales are elected via supplementary vote

As with AV, voters in mayoral elections had a first and second choice on their ballot. If a first-choice candidate wins 50 per cent of votes, he or she wins outright. If not, candidates are whittled down to the two with the most votes, and the one with the fewest is eliminated.

Tony Travers, professor of practice at the London School of Economics, explained: "First-past-the-post tends to favour the two biggest parties and parties which have concentrated votes in some constituencies, such as the Scottish National Party. It has generally created parties which are coalitions of different interests and also tended to squeeze out extremists.

"Many European countries use forms of proportional representation, where the number of seats each party receives is closely aligned to their vote share nationally. Australia and New Zealand have moved from first-past-the-post towards more proportional systems."

How long has the current voting system been around?

FPTP can be traced as far back as the Middle Ages. In 1950 constituencies were redrawn to ensure every MP represented a roughly equal population, and FPTP was born in its modern form.

Why do some people dislike it?

The main reason it is controversial is because some feel it fails to represent local areas fully.

Some say FPTP stokes division during election campaigns because parties channel their efforts into “swing seats”, where sitting MPs have small majorities, as opposed to “safe seats” – around two-thirds of UK constituencies – where one individual or party can stay in power for decades.

Another criticism levelled at FPTP is that small parties such as the Green Party are excluded and can be a “wasted vote”. FPTP also encourages tactical voting.

There can be discrepancies in the relationship between percentage of votes cast and won. In 2017, the Liberal Democrats won 12 seats on 7.4 per cent, while the SNP got 35 from 3 per cent of votes.

However, its defenders say FPTP is easy to understand, avoids multiparty coalitions, such as under Germany’s proportional system, and builds a strong bond between MPs and their constituents.

In 2011, Britain was defeated by a two-thirds majority after holding a referendum on replacing FPTP with AV,