Part 2. First past the post.

Today I want to explain what's First Past the Post (FPTP) is. Or at least how I understand it.

It's a system to elect our MPs. Ok, let's start with the vocabulary bit first:

Constituencies and other funny words

• FPTP = First past the post.

• MP = Member of Parliament.

• Seats = If a candidate is elected MP, it is said they have gained a seat. This represents where they will be sitting in Parliament during debates and votes.

• Candidate = Person who you can vote for so they can become MP. They can be associated with a party or they can be independent.

• Constituency = Area where you live. 

The whole UK is divided into 650 constituencies. Each one will elect one single MP in the General Election.

Once the election is over and all 650 MPs have been elected, they will take their seats and they will be voting on new laws when these are presented to them. 

Why is this important?

Whoever gets the most votes in your area will be the elected MP. All the other votes will not count. This also means that a party could have a lot of votes in the country, but if none of the candidates gets the most votes in each constituency, they will have no MPs. This is known as the FPTP system.

Fair?

There are other methods: For example, proportional representation.

In other countries, for example in Spain, there are fewer constituencies (in Spain these are called 'provincias'). These are usually larger (not always) but more than one candidate is elected in each provincia (usually according to how many people live in the area).

In this example, Málaga province elects eleven MPs (diputados) which means that often more than one party has seats (become MPs) and therefore your vote might count even if your candidate didn't have the most votes.

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