Regionalism
The orign of regions in Uk can be traced back till 500 A.D., when England was consisted of seven Anglo-Saxon teritories. Back then the main conflicts among these regions were about lands and expansions. Nowadays, the United Kindom, consisted of nine regions, is facing the age old question again: regionalism.
History:
Starting from around 1920, England has undertaken regional plannings in terms of economic developements. After WWII, the British government invested more reconstruction plans in Great London and West Midlands more than in any other regions. This is when London started to have more economic advantages and therefore result in more politically important.
History:
Starting from around 1920, England has undertaken regional plannings in terms of economic developements. After WWII, the British government invested more reconstruction plans in Great London and West Midlands more than in any other regions. This is when London started to have more economic advantages and therefore result in more politically important.
How it influences political participation:
In the 2005 election, more than half of all voters voted against their winning MP.
However, because the UK voting system is a "winner takes all" system, even though so many voted against their winning MP, these voters were spaced out among the electoral constituencies.
If a MP wins the majority of the votes, he goes to parliament, no matter how large the minority of opposition voters are. This is a very big problem especially in the larger constituencies were a single voter's vote counts even less.
In the UK, the only voters with any real power to choose the government are those who live in marginal constituencies, or electoral constituencies where there is no traditional or historical party leanings. Less than 20% of constituencies can be considered marginal.
Statistics by the NEF ( the new economics foundation) found that the average UK voter has about 0.25 votes.
In some ultra safe constituencies (which have strong traditional ties to a certain political party and always end up backing the same party during elections) such as Bootle, the real value of one vote can be as low as 0.003 of a vote
With such unfair distribution of power and opportunity, lots of UK citizens decided not to vote because they know even if they did, the votes won't be counted.
In the 2005 election, more than half of all voters voted against their winning MP.
However, because the UK voting system is a "winner takes all" system, even though so many voted against their winning MP, these voters were spaced out among the electoral constituencies.
If a MP wins the majority of the votes, he goes to parliament, no matter how large the minority of opposition voters are. This is a very big problem especially in the larger constituencies were a single voter's vote counts even less.
In the UK, the only voters with any real power to choose the government are those who live in marginal constituencies, or electoral constituencies where there is no traditional or historical party leanings. Less than 20% of constituencies can be considered marginal.
Statistics by the NEF ( the new economics foundation) found that the average UK voter has about 0.25 votes.
In some ultra safe constituencies (which have strong traditional ties to a certain political party and always end up backing the same party during elections) such as Bootle, the real value of one vote can be as low as 0.003 of a vote
With such unfair distribution of power and opportunity, lots of UK citizens decided not to vote because they know even if they did, the votes won't be counted.
Most powerful constituencies in the UK
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Least powerful constituencies in the UK
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