Define, with examples, the definition of proportional representation (5 marks).

Proportional representation refers to an electoral system in which the percentage of seats won by a given political party in a legislative election corresponds to their share of the vote. For example if the Conservartive party won 30 per cent of the vote in a general election, they would be awarded 30 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons, in contrast to the current system which results in a disproportionately high number of seats relative to votes cast for the two largest parties.

There are some elections in the UK use forms of proportional representation. Elections in Northern Ireland, for example, take place using the Single Transferable Vote (STV), in which voters in multi-member constituencies rank candidates in order of preference. Recently, in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, in May 2011, the Ulster Unionists won 14.8 per cent of seats on a 13.2 per cent vote share, and the SDLP won 13 per cent of seats on a 14.2 per cent vote share. In contrast, in the 2015 General Election, UKIP recieved 12.6% of the vote and yet only recieved one seat under the disproportional system of First Past the Post.