What is the difference between the plurality voting system and proportional representation?
Plurality voting is basically first-past-the-post; it uses single-member districts and the candidate who gets the most votes wins that district, even if they only got a third of the vote or less. Proportional representation tries to ensure that the number of seats won is roughly in proportion to the total national vote share – example, in the 2005 UK general election proportional representation would’ve seen Labour take about 36% of the seats instead of giving them a majority of 64. There are a number of different forms of proportional representation, the main ones being: Party list – basically you vote for a list of candidates from a party rather than an individual person, and the seats are distributed according to the party’s vote share; however it tends to break the bond between MPs and the electorate. Used in most European countries and Israel (among others). Additional member system – basically you get two votes: one for a local MP (same as first-past-the-post) and one for a party
