Lesson Starter 1.Explain, in your own words the West Lothian question.

THE ADDITIONAL MEMBER SYSTEM Higher Modern Studies

What will I learn? About the voting system used in the Scottish Parliament.

Success Criteria Identify the voting system used in the SP elections. Describe how the voting system works. Identify the difference between different MSPs

The Additional Member System The voting system used for Scottish Parliament elections is the Additional Member System (AMS). This is a form of Proportional Representation. The number of seats won by each party will be roughly equivalent to the number of votes it receives. Elections are held every 4 years. First election – 1999, second – 2003 and third – 2007 and fourth 2011.

How it Works There are 129 MSPs. There are 2 different types of MSPs: ‘Constituency’ MSPs and ‘Regional List’ MSPs’. 2 different ballot papers are used to elect the different types of MSPs.

Constituency MSPs There are 73 constituencies in Scotland. Each constituency elects 1 MSP using FPTP. A lilac (purple) colored ballot paper is used to elect constituency MSPs. You put a ‘x’ beside the name of the candidate you want to vote for.

Regional List MSPs For these MSPs, Scotland is divided into 8 regions: Highland and Islands, NE Scotland, Mid Scotland and Fife, West of Scotland, Glasgow, Central, Lothians and South of Scotland.

Regional List MSPs There are 56 ‘List’ MSPs. Each region has 7 ‘List’ MSPs. A peach coloured ballot paper is used. Party List system of PR is used. You put a cross beside the name of a party you want to vote for.

The Party List Each party supplies a list of candidates. Most favored candidates are at the top of the list. 7 rounds of calculations take place using a formula:

The Result Each person in Scotland is represented by a total of 8 MSPs. 1 Constituency MSP + 7 Regional MSPs

Example In Cowdenbeath in 2011 SP election, Helen Eadie won more votes than her rivals. She therefore become the constituency MSP. Under AMS, Cowdenbeath is part of the Mid Scotland and Fife region. In order to compensate the parties who had a decent number of votes across the wider region, list seats are allocated according to the proportion of vote each party receives. End result Helen Eadie is the constituency MSP and there are an additional 7 MSPs for the region.

Example If a constituent in Cowdenbeath has an issue in the area that needs the MSP’s attention they could got to Helen Eadie to do something. In theory they could also approach a ‘list’ MSP, such as Murdo Fraser, a Conservative MSP for the Fife region.

Glasgow Provan Constituency Paul Martin, Constituency MSP Scottish Labour Region: Glasgow It is claimed that AMS is unlikely to give one party complete power.

Write a mini-conclusion for the following paragraph The AMS is a fair system of electing MSPs. Discuss. There are many arguments for and against the AMS system of electing MSPs. One positive of this system is due to proportionality. This type of electoral system produces a proportional result where the percentage of the vote a party gets is roughly equal to the percentage of seats the party gets in the SP. For example in the 2011 SP election, the SNP got 45% of the vote and gained 53% of the seats. In contrast, in the 2010 Westminster election, there was less proportionality with the Conservatives polling 36% of the vote but gained 47% of the seats. Also in the same election Labour polled 29% of the vote and gained 39% of the seats.

System for Writing Paragraphs… 1.Introduce point 2.Make point 3.Backup with examples (at least 2) 4.Analysis – explain why what you have said answers the question (mini- conclusion)