Multi-member constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Multi-member constituencies existed in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
and its predecessor bodies in the component parts of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
from the earliest era of elected representation until they were abolished by the
Representation of the People Act 1948 The Representation of the People Act 1948 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the law relating to parliamentary and local elections. It is noteworthy for abolishing plural voting for parliamentary elections, including ...
. Since the 1950 general election, all members of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
have been elected from single-member constituencies.


Method of election

Three electoral systems have been used to return multiple members to Parliament.


Bloc vote

The system requires two or more vacant seats for elections and is used for local elections in England and Wales. The original method and the one most commonly used is the following variety of bloc vote: Electors vote for as many candidates as vacant seats in their geographic division of the election, or they may vote for fewer candidates. The elector cannot vote more than once for any candidate. A single vote for one of the candidates was known as a plumper, and was particularly valued by the candidate receiving it and would be sought or demanded when campaigning and offering hospitality especially from the most reliable supporters. Example: At the close of polls an impartial officer declares the poll-leading candidates to be elected to the vacant seats. If there are two seats (as above), the candidate with the most votes is elected, as is the candidate with the second-most votes. It is clear from the above example that the last-listed party can in principle have both its candidates elected in this area. However, if that party is only strong enough at best for second-place in this area it should have run one "rally around" candidate.


Drawbacks

The system suffers from a drawback for a small minority of "ambitious electors" in an election. Say, a voter supports just one candidate but votes twice or more, but reluctantly, for these extra choices out of ignorance of the system or hatred for some other candidate(s). She estimates she has therefore done more to stop the 'threat' of the hated candidate(s) but she will have contributed to the defeat of her most preferred candidate by boosting the second preference, who may be the poll-topper or second-placer (if receiving strong local support), and local support has shifted or was to be expected to one of the hated or lower-order candidates who is also elected with the most or the second-most votes. Having two-or-greater seats per constituency Allows more fair elections than single-winner but only if a fair voting system is used. Using a multi-member district and a system that allows a minority to group to take all the seats, producing results just as un-proportional as single-winner FPTP. Without the use of ranked votes or some mechanism to allocate the seats in a multi-seat district fairly, a party may choose to run only one candidate in a two-seat district, thus preventing it from winning two seats even if it has wide popularity. It will have "shot itself in the foot" by not running two candidates. It has given away such extra seats. In first-past-the-post it is often the marginal seats, where the candidate wins by a narrow margin, that determine the outcome even if in the
safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...
s a party takes the vast bulk of votes.


Formal and informal local pacts

Gentleman's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...
s were frequently formed between one Whig and one Tory or Radical, agreeing to serve their respective factions, and instead of a costly campaign against each other an uncontested election would see both elected by the same electorate; particularly where they were the landed or business-owning patrons of that electorate. An advantage of this system, at least from the point of view of politicians, is that it enabled different sections of a party or allied groups to work together in the same constituency. In the early and mid-19th century it was quite common for liberals in an area with two seats to support the (left wing) liberal
Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
candidate and the (right wing) liberal Whig nominee. Similarly in the early 20th century the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
and Labour Party found it expedient to pre-agree to field one candidate each in each such seat (unless a sure victory was anticipated for two like-party candidates); their main opponents being the Conservative Party in most areas.


Similarity to first-past-the-post

The operation is mathematically similar to the first-past-the-post method, likewise where separate local polls as opposed to one national poll takes place, it may lead to non- proportional outcomes to the disadvantage of losing factions by not amassing their votes to award consolation seats and the winners possibly disregarding them altogether. In both systems this can be rectified by awarding additional members (
Mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
), counting all the votes across the elected body using the
D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
. As well, similarly to First past the post, bloc voting often results in a party taking all the seats in a district although receiving just a minority of votes cast. A party with the most support will take all the seats if its supporters give all their votes to the party's slate. Such happened in
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Canada in 1921, when a party took all five of the seats in the district with just a third of the votes cast.


Limited vote

In 1868, the
limited vote Limited voting (also known as partial block voting) is a voting system in which electors have fewer votes than there are positions available. The positions are awarded to the candidates who receive the most votes absolutely. In the special case ...
was introduced, which was similar to the bloc vote but restricted an individual elector in a three or four seat constituency to using up to one fewer vote than the number of seats to be filled. The purpose of this innovation was to encourage minority representation and weaken political parties. In some areas, particularly the three member counties where rural elites were used to negotiating so as to minimise the number of contested elections, the reform worked as its proposers hoped. In some urban areas, the result was completely counterproductive.
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...
and the
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
Liberal Caucus realised that by ensuring their supporters voted in a disciplined manner, as directed by the Caucus, they had enough support to win all three seats for the city. Instead of weakening party organisation, the limited vote strengthened it. Instead of providing guaranteed minority representation, the chance of it depended largely on how well the dominant local party organised itself. When the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...
was being considered in 1884–85, the limited vote had little support. The redistribution eliminated the three and four member districts and the limited vote disappeared.


Single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

When Parliament debated the Fourth Reform Act in 1918, consideration was given to electoral reform. James Lowther was Chairman of the Speakers' Electoral Reform Conference in 1916–1917, of the Boundary Commissions (Great Britain and Ireland) in 1917, of the Royal Commission on Proportional Representation in 1918, all held before the legislation was introduced. There had been a call for the introduction of proportional representation in multi-member seats (
Single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
), at least in major urban areas where constituencies would not have to cover very large areas. This was not a unanimous recommendation, and some politicians wished to introduce the
alternative vote Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...
in single member seats. The
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and
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
were agreed that there should be some reform, but could not agree what. In the end, Speaker Lowther warned that if the dispute continued the whole bill would be lost. As a result of this, neither the
alternative vote Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...
or the
single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
(STV) were introduced for territorial constituencies which continued to use the old electoral system. However one part of the proportional representation scheme survived into the final Act of Parliament. The multi-member
University constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...
would elect their representatives by the single transferable vote. As only one constituency had as many as three seats, the trial of STV was not very satisfactory, but it did loosen the traditional
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
grip on most of the university seats and encouraged the election of Independents. The university representation was abolished in 1950 (1920 in the case of Dublin University), so no members have since been elected on a
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
system.


Constituencies

Constituencies in the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
were enfranchised (or re-enfranchised in some cases centuries after they last returned members) according to the policy or whim of particular monarchs. By the start of the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
only three of the English constituencies in the
Unreformed House of Commons "Unreformed House of Commons" is a name given to the House of Commons of Great Britain and (after 1800 the House of Commons of the United Kingdom) before it was reformed by the Reform Act 1832, the Irish Reform Act 1832, and the Scottish Reform ...
had not yet been enfranchised. Under the
Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government was a constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, it was the first sovereign codified and written constitution in England. Antecedence The '' ...
England (and Wales), Scotland and Ireland were all represented in the
First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Hou ...
and
Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in t ...
, using a novel scheme of constituencies represented by 1-13 members. The
Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a powe ...
reverted to the pre-war distribution (at least for the English members). By 1660 England, Scotland and Ireland had all reverted to having individual Parliaments. In the 1670s the last three English constituencies were enfranchised (one two member county and two two member boroughs). For the summary of the final composition of the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
see the English and Welsh parts of the tables below for 1708–1800 and 1801–1821. In 1707 45 Scottish members were added to the existing Parliament of England, to form the
Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...
. In the 1st Parliament of Great Britain the Scottish members were co-opted from the former
Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
, but from 1708 the distribution of members was as set out in the Scottish section of the tables below. Notably all the Scottish seats before 1832 were single member constituencies. In 1801 100 Irish members were added to the existing Parliament of Great Britain, to form the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
. In the
First Parliament of the United Kingdom In the first Parliament to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801, the first House of Commons of the United Kingdom was composed of all 558 members of the former Parliament of Great Britain and 100 of the members ...
some of the Irish members (for constituencies reduced from two seats to one) were co-opted from the former
Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...
by drawing lots. For the counties and two boroughs (Cork and Dublin) which retained two seats both members continued after the Union.


Members of Parliament 1654-1658

''Key to categories: BC - Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC -
County constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
, UC -
University constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...
, EC - English constituencies, WC - Welsh constituencies, SC - Scottish constituencies, IC - Irish constituencies, EMP - English Members of Parliament, WMP - Welsh Members of Parliament, SMP - Scottish Members of Parliament, IMP - Irish Members of Parliament, Total MP - Total Members of Parliament.'' Table 1: Constituencies by type Table 2: Constituencies, by number of seats ''Notes: (1) Monmouthshire (3 county seats) included in England, not Wales. (2) Dublin City and County treated as a county constituency (2 seats).''


Members of Parliament 1708-1800

''Key to categories in the following tables: BC - Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC -
County constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
, UC -
University constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...
, Total C - Total constituencies, BMP - Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP - County Members of Parliament, UMP - University Members of Parliament.'' Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country


Members of Parliament 1801-1821

''Key to categories in the following tables: BC - Borough/Burgh constituencies, CC -
County constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
, UC -
University constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...
, Total C - Total constituencies, BMP - Borough/Burgh Members of Parliament, CMP - County Members of Parliament, UMP - University Members of Parliament.''
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
(1 County constituency with 2 MPs and one single member Borough constituency) is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England. Table 1: Constituencies and MPs, by type and country Table 2: Number of seats per constituency, by type and country


List of multi-member constituencies

:''See List of multi-member constituencies in the United Kingdom and predecessor Parliaments''


See also

*
List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies This is a list of former parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom, organised by date of abolition. It includes UK parliamentary constituencies that have been abolished, including those that were later recreated, but does not include con ...


References

* ''British Electoral Facts 1832-1987'', compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Parliamentary Research Services 1989) * ''The Constitutional Year Book 1900'' (William Blackstone & Sons 1900) ''out of copyright'' * ''Electoral Reform in England and Wales'', by Charles Seymour (David & Charles Reprints 1970) * ''The Statutes: Second Revised Edition, Vol. XVI 1884-1886'' (printed by authority in 1900) {{DEFAULTSORT:Multi-Member Constituencies In The Parliament Of The United Kingdom Political history of the United Kingdom Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom