Campaigns Around the World

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom uses a first-past-the-post system, in which the candidate receiving the plurality of votes in each of the country's 659 districts wins that seat. The party that wins the most seats controls the government and names one of its Members of Parliament (MP) as Prime Minister. It is believed this links the interests of constituents more closely to their MP. However, this is minimized by the fact that MPs are not required to live in the district they represent. This affects campaigns because prominent party members representing safe districts to avoid the embarrassment of defeat. Moreover, if a district has several candidates it is possible for someone to win with a minority of votes, implying that not everyone in the district supports that candidate. This is reinforced by voters choosing the candidate most likely to beat someone else rather than their preferred candidate.

Such a system also solidifies the position of the two major parties (Conservatives and Labour) and minor parties whose support is concentrated in a small area, such as the Scottish and Welsh national parties. However, a party enjoying support throughout the country (e.g. Liberal Democrats) is at a disadvantage because its broad base of support is not concentrated in enough areas to win many seats.

These problems have driven occasional efforts to switch to a proportional representation system, most recently in 1997, with the Labour-initiated Jenkins Commission, but because such a system would weaken both major parties, there has been little incentive for such a change to occur.

MPs in the current system serve for five years, however, elections are normally held before then, typically every four years, to take advantage of the governing party's popularity. While the campaign itself lasts thirty days, when it appears likely that an election will be called, parties begin their publicity early. Although they are based on single-member districts, actual campaigns revolve around broad themes and who a party has chosen to lead the government if they win, instead of individuals competing for specific seats.

When a campaign is officially called, limits on ads and media appearances come into effect. While there are no limits on overall party spending, there are restrictions on party spending in specific constituencies. In addition, parties are given a certain amount of free nationwide campaign airtime; this is based on the number of votes the party received in the prior election and parties are not allowed to buy their own time.

In order to be able to run, candidates must receive the endorsement of ten electors and pay a deposit, which is lost if the candidate fails to get at least five percent of the vote and it is returned if more than five percent of the vote is earned.

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