The Benefits and Drawbacks of Proportional Representation

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Every state has its own distinct electoral system in choosing their government, Britain is not an exception. It is a well-established country, which also seeks an appropriate and effective legislature. This in turn involves fair and rational voting policy and distribution of seats. During periods it had different systems of election and the current one is First-Past-The-Post (FPTP here and after). However, recently British government started to investigate its drawbacks and benefits, rationality and fairness of elections and now they are considering replacing it by Proportional Representation (PR here and after). PR is the system of election where seats in parliament are almost in same proportion as votes cast, while FPTP is one of plurality/majority systems, where parties with most votes take all and represent the whole Parliament. (accessed on http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/) The following essay is going to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of PR and as a conclusion it will argue that this system can successfully replace FPTP in electing British Government. To begin with advantages, PR would result in better representation of the racial and ethnic minorities (Amy 1997). These parties are awarded a constituent power at a public and regional degree in the countries exploiting this system. Western Europe and Latin America are the demonstrative examples where PR is dominant according to Andrew Reynolds and Ben Reilly (2002). Besides, imposition of this system would provide the voters with a greater amount of viewpoints, so that the candidates of Minor Parties would have more possibility to get a seat at Westminster (Amy 1997). Participation in solving governmental issues would help to develop some new concepts, which don’t a... ... middle of paper ... ...re Proportional Representation can suitably replace First Past The Post in the election of British Government and I believe that imposition of PR will influence the further prosperity of the government and the country as a whole. Works Cited 1. Amy, J. 1997. Full Representation: The Case for a Better Election System. USA: Crescent Street Press. 2. Farrell,M. 2001. Electoral systems: A comparative introduction. Basingstoke: Macmillan. 3. Gallagher, M., and P.Mitchell. ed. 2008. The politics of electoral systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press 4. Hix, S., R.Johnston and I.Mclean 2010. A research report prepared for the British Academy. London. 5. Reynolds, A., B. Reilly and A.Ellis. 2008. Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook. Sweden: Trydells Tryckeri AB. 6. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/proportional_representation.htm

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