Part II – the hidden evils of First Past the Post
Scope: compares the key features and relative performance of different electoral systems across peers
Summary:
Like the US, Canada and Australia, the UK uses a First Past the Post system whereas the Europeans use a PR system
Since 1980, the FPTP countries each have ‘2 party’ systems whereas the PR governments have involved at least 4 parties in different combinations over the 40 years
In-built biases ensure right wing parties get more time in power under FPTP than PR
FPTP countries have increasingly lagged their PR peers across all inequality measures since 1980
Conclusion:
Pluralist and centrist PR democracy achieves lower inequality than the narrower and more right wing democracies of FPTP
