What is First Past the Post?

First Past the Post (FPTP) is the way the UK elects Members of Parliament to Westminster. It is also used in local council elections in England and Wales.

Under First Past the Post, the UK is divided into 650 single-member constituencies. Voters choose one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins the seat, even if they do not secure a majority.

This simplicity is often seen as a strength – it is easy to understand and produces a winner in each constituency.

But First Past the Post has significant problems in practice. It produces disproportionate results, large numbers of wasted votes and many ‘safe seats'.

What are the problems with First Past the Post?

Disproportional results

Seats are awarded to whomever comes first in each constituency, rather than in proportion to each party’s share of the national vote. This creates disproportional results, where the number of seats a party wins does not reflect how many people voted for it.

This means First Past the Post can give a party a parliamentary majority even when it wins well under half the vote. In the 2024 General Election, Labour won 33.7% of the vote but 63.2% of the seats.

It also means that parties with similar levels of support can win very different numbers of seats. A party might have lots of support across the country, but if that support is spread thinly across many constituencies, it can struggle to win seats. For example, in 2024, Reform UK won 14.3% of the vote but just 5 seats, while the Liberal Democrats won 12.2% and 72 seats.

Wasted votes

First Past the Post creates many wasted votes. This includes ballots cast for losing candidates that do not help elect anyone. At the 2024 General Election, only around 42% of voters backed a winning candidate, meaning over half were left with an MP they had no hand in electing.

There are also wasted votes cast for winning candidates. Once a candidate has enough votes to come first, any additional votes they receive do not affect the result. In 2024, such surplus votes amounted to 16% of the votes cast, meaning that in total, when combined with the 58% of votes cast for losing candidates, 74% of all votes had no impact on the outcome of the election.

Safe seats

First Past the Post creates what are known as ‘safe seats’. These are constituencies where one party consistently has a large lead, so votes for other parties are effectively wasted.

Parties often spend less time campaigning in safe seats and focus on ‘swing seats’, where the result is more uncertain. This can leave voters in safe seats feeling ignored.

Why does First Past the Post no longer work?

Supporters of First Past the Post argue that it produces a two-party system with clear, stable, single-party governments and limits the influence of smaller parties.

But these supposed advantages have all but disappeared now that UK politics has become increasingly multi-party, with several parties now winning significant shares of the vote. There has also been very little stability in governments for the last 10 years.

Which countries use First Past the Post?

The UK and Belarus, a dictatorship, are the only countries in Europe that use First Past the Post.

Around the world, First Past the Post is used in many former British colonies, such as the United States, Canada, India, and dozens of Caribbean and African countries.

What are the alternatives to First Past the Post?

Proportional Representation offers an alternative to First Past the Post. Proportional Representation ensures that the share of votes closely matches the share of seats. This can be achieved through a number of different electoral systems, such as the Single Transferable Vote or the Additional Member System.

What is Unlock Democracy’s view on First Past the Post?

Unlock Democracy believes First Past the Post is a broken voting system. It produces wildly disproportional results and leaves millions of votes effectively wasted. It simply can’t deal with the multi-party politics we have today.

We welcome the National Commission on Electoral Reform announced by the government. The Commission should recommend a new voting system for a modern Britain, where the seats parties win reflect the votes they receive.