How UK electoral systems work, and referendums: practice

Question 11 mark

Which system elects the House of Commons?

Question 21 mark

How many members does the Scottish Parliament have, and how are they elected?

Question 31 mark

Which system was used to elect the Senedd in May 2026?

Question 41 mark

Which system elects the Northern Ireland Assembly?

Question 51 mark

Which system elected the Mayor of London in 2024?

Question 61 mark

In an FPTP seat, the winner has 18,000 of 50,000 votes. What share is that?

Question 71 mark

Under STV, what is the Droop quota in a five-member seat with 60,000 valid votes?

Question 81 mark

Under the D'Hondt method, a party's votes are divided by

Question 91 mark

Which is an argument for FPTP?

Question 101 mark

Which referendum result is correctly paired with its outcome?

Question 111 mark

What was turnout in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum?

Question 121 mark

Are UK referendums legally binding?

Question 131 mark

Which is a political rather than constitutional reason for calling a referendum?

Question 141 mark

Which body decides how a UK referendum's question is worded?

Source 110 marks of drills

Referendums and representative democracy

The UK has held referendums on devolution, the voting system, Scottish independence and EU membership. This source sets out two views.

Source · Referendums and representative democracy

Supporters argue that referendums strengthen democracy on questions too important to leave to MPs alone. The 1997 votes gave devolution in Scotland and Wales a clear popular mandate, and turnout in the 2014 independence referendum reached 84.6%. A direct vote settles a constitutional question in a way that one party's manifesto cannot, and it engages people who rarely vote in elections.

Critics argue that referendums can weaken representative democracy. They reduce complex questions to yes or no, and after the 2016 EU referendum MPs struggled for years to agree what the result required. Governments choose when to hold them and what to ask, often for party reasons. Turnout in the 2011 referendum on the Alternative Vote was only 42%, which raises doubts about how representative a result is. A close result can divide the country rather than settle the question.

(a) Identify2 marks

Identify one argument in the source for the view 'referendums strengthen democracy' and one for the view 'referendums weaken it'.

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(b) Explain4 marks

Choose one claim in the source. Explain how a piece of your own knowledge develops it, and why it makes the claim stronger or weaker.

0 words

(c) Assess4 marks

Name a criterion you would use to judge between the two views, and say which view it favours and why.

0 words

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How UK electoral systems work, and referendums

Referendums and representative democracy

Source · Referendums and representative democracy

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