Paper 2 · 2020 · 30 marks
Evaluate the view that since 2010 the UK has seen a return to cabinet government.
PM & Executive
Mark scheme: agreement
AO1: First past the post (FPTP) makes a huge difference to party representation.
AO2: FPTP in its design tends to work for two main parties and unfairly rewards the other or minor parties.
AO3: We can conclude because it usually overrepresents the two major parties in power, the chance of reform is non-existent.
AO1: AMS makes a considerable difference to party representation.
AO2: In its design of having two votes one based on FPTP and the other on the list system – there is compensation to parties who fail to do well at constituency levels but have a large overall vote.
AO3: We can conclude that the result will be a wider spread of political parties who can secure election and fair representation.
AO1: STV makes a considerable difference to party representation.
AO2: STV is designed to be an electoral system which captures not only the different parties but the shades of opinion within them. It can favour certain personalities within the parties.
AO3: We can reach a verdict that it was specifically chosen for Northern Ireland (NI) to capture the spread of party support.
Mark scheme: disagreement
AO1: First past the post (FPTP) makes a no significant difference to party representation.
AO2: FPP has recently resulted in larger roles for smaller parties - coalition, minority and small majority governments as support for the two main parties has dropped.
AO3: We can conclude that FPTP, like PR, allows for smaller parties to have a greater say in government when support for the two main parties decreases.
AO1: AMS makes no real difference to party representation.
AO2: Rather than delivering a multi-party system, AMS has led to Scottish politics being dominated by one party, the SNP, giving them a majority in 2011. In the Welsh Parliament, it is the Labour Party who have dominated.
AO3: We can conclude that AMS does not significantly affect the dominance of one party.
AO1: STV makes no real difference to party representation.
AO2: Comparisons between representation in UK General elections to representation in NI assembly elections shows a great similarity in who wins seats.
AO3: We can conclude that there has been major party change in terms of representation, but this is not due to the electoral system as outcomes for NI MPs elected by FPTP mirror choices under STV.