Discover The Facts

Elections are the key means by which the public holds government and parliament accountable.  An electoral system is a set of rules for translating the public's votes into seats in the legislature.  Political parties attempt to persuade voters of their ability to govern Britain with policies and principles set out in their respective election manifestos.

• In UK general elections, electors vote using the ‘first past the post’ electoral system to determine the composition of the UK Parliament at Westminster.
• The political party (or group of parties) which gains a majority of constituency seats in Parliament gets to govern Britain - it is ‘the government’ as it has ‘the confidence of the House’.
• There are currently 5 different electoral systems in operation in the UK. Almost  all levels of sub-state government are now determined by some form of proportional representation. 
• Many areas in Britain have elections for up to 4 tiers of government.

The electoral system is fundamental to Britain’s democracy:

• it is the key means of holding governments and parliaments accountable to the public
• it determines which political party is appointed to be the government, and the extent to which that government can enact legislation and implement its policies
• reform of the electoral system is a key issue within the current Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, the two parties having agreed that there should be a referendum on changing the electoral system in the near future; since we will all be invited to vote on this issue in a referendum, it is critically important that we understand what we are being asked to decide

1832

Abolition of rotten boroughs; reduced property qualification for voting.

1867

Greater proportionality of representation; further reduction of property qualification.

1872

Replaced open elections with secret ballot elections.

1884

Reduced property qualifications; created voting population of 5m, or 25% of the adult population.

1918

Property requirement removed; women over 30 allowed to vote; created voting population of 21m, or 75% of the adult population.

1928

Voting age of women lowered to 21.

1969

Voting age reduced to 18.

1973

Northern Ireland referendum held.

1975

Referendum on Europe held.

1979

Referendum on Scottish and Welsh devolution held; first direct elections for the European Parliament held in the UK.

1997

Referendum on Scottish and Welsh devolution held; introduction of proportional representation at devolved level.

1998

Referendum on Greater London Authority held; referendum on Good Friday Agreement held.

2000

Establishment of Electoral Commission to regulate elections and referendums; new rules on party financing.

2004

Referendum on Northern England devolution held.

Types of electoral systems

These can be divided into two kinds: majoritarian and proportional representation.  Some electoral systems involve aspects of both systems.  Voting systems are many and varied and the following is a summary of the most widely used, or discussed.

Majoritarian

Majoritarian systems require one candidate to win a majority of the votes cast in the election; usually no recognition is given to candidates who come second or third.  In majoritarian systems, electors are generally voting for an individually-named candidate rather than for a political party.

First Past the Post (FPTP)

This is the electoral system known to most people in the United Kingdom. Electors in a single constituency vote for a candidate who may, but does not have to, belong to a political party and the candidate with the highest number of votes in that constituency is the winning candidate and becomes the MP for that constituency or 'seat'. Depending on the number of candidates, the person winning the most votes will not necessarily have more than 50% of all the votes cast.  The political party with the most MPs in Parliament then becomes the Government.

This system is used to elect MPs in the UK House of Commons and in the English and Welsh local government elections.

Alternative Vote (AV) and Alternative Vote Plus

The winning constituency candidate is required to gain over 50% of the votes cast.  On their ballot papers, electors have to rank their candidates in order of preference (first, second, third and so on); any candidate gaining outright more than 50% of the first preference votes wins the election.  If no candidate wins on first preferences, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is removed and the second preferences indicated on the ballot papers of those who voted for the removed candidate are transferred to the remaining candidates.  This process repeats until one candidate gains more than 50% of the votes cast.

AV Plus is very similar to the Additional Member System (AMS), which is explained below.

AV and AV Plus are not used in the UK, but AV plus was recommended for introduction into the UK by the Independent Commission on Electoral Reform and the coalition government is currently seeking a referendum which would propose AV as a replacement for FPTP.

Supplementary Vote (SV)

This is very similar to the AV system, in that voters on their ballot papers are required to select their first and second choice of candidate (although they do not have to select a second choice).  If any candidate wins more than 50% of the first choice votes cast, he is the winner. The key difference between SV and AV systems is that under the SV system if no candidate wins outright on the initial vote, then all but the top two candidates are eliminated, and all the second preferences of the eliminated candidates are allocated to those two candidates (as appropriate).  The candidate with the most votes is then the winner. Depending on the number of candidates and whether or not electors opt to indicate a second preference, the winning candidate may or may not have the support of more than 50% of the total votes cast.

This system is used to elect the London Mayor if there are more than 2 candidates and in mayoral elections at local government level.

 

Proportional Representation

There are many forms of proportional representation, but all are aimed at ensuring that a political party is given seats in the legislature according to the proportion of the total votes received by that party. Proportional representation is used at European, devolved and local levels of government.

List systems

In systems of proportional representation, every party provides a list of candidates for selection on a regional or national basis. These lists may be open or closed: an open list means electors have the ability to indicate some preference over which of the candidates they choose from the party list; a closed list means electors must vote for the party as a whole and the list is presented to them as a fait accompli.  Each party standing for election wins seats in accordance with the proportion of votes it receives.

A closed list system is used for European parliamentary elections.

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

This is perhaps the most ‘pure’ version of proportional representation.  It is also quite complex and difficult to explain simply, because of the different formulae that can be used to calculate what the minimum quota of votes is that each candidate is required to achieve.  In summary, electors in each constituency rank the candidates for their constituency in order of preference. Candidates must reach a ‘quota’ of votes in order to be elected.  If no candidate reaches that quota, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is removed and those votes are redistributed to remaining candidates according to electors’ secondary preferences.  Surplus votes for a candidate who reaches that quota are transferred to the remaining candidates until other candidates also reach the required quota necessary. This continues until there are no seats remaining. † More

This system is used in Northern Ireland in elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly and for the European Parliament.

Additional Member System (AMS)

Also known as mixed member proportional (MMP). Electors have 2 votes: a constituency vote and a party list vote.  Constituency MPs are chosen by FPTP; the party vote is used to ‘top up’ seats to give each party proportionality within the legislature.  As with STV, the system by which this is done is complex and difficult to explain simply. † More

This system is used in Scottish Parliament elections, Welsh National Assembly elections and London Assembly elections.  It is also used in Germany and New Zealand.

 

Electoral systems in the UK

There are a variety of electoral systems used in the UK. Many areas have elections for up to 5 tiers of government or administration: local government; local mayoral administration; a devolved legislature; the UK Parliament and the European Parliament. † More

The UK Parliament - General Elections at Westminster

The composition of the House of Commons is determined by the first past the post system (FPTP).  There are 650 MPs in the House of Commons, each elected in a constituency.  There is currently no fixed parliamentary term, though the coalition agreement includes the commitment to introduce fixed parliamentary terms of five years. Under the current system, the Prime Minister has the power to choose the date for an election.  Once the date for a general election is fixed, there are usually 3-4 weeks of campaigning before election day.  By convention, general elections are always held on a Thursday.

Registered electors may either vote via the post or at a polling station.  The votes are counted and the candidate having the most number of votes in his or her constituency is identified as having won that constituency seat.  A political party which gains the greatest number of seats in Parliament is declared to be the winner of the election, and is invited by the Queen to form the Government.

If no political party gains a majority of seats in the Commons, this is known as a ‘hung parliament’.  In this situation, there may need to be negotiations between political parties to see if they can come to an arrangement which will give them a majority in the House: that is, political parties may band together and form a 'coalition' government.  If this fails, one political party or a group of parties may agree to form a 'minority' government — one which has no majority in the House.  If no agreement can be reached at all,  there may need to be a second election.

Hung parliaments are not very common at Westminster; until 2010, the most recent example of a general election resulting in a hung parliament was in 1974.  However, there have been a number of hung parliaments at a devolved level. † More

Under FPTP, electors have no means of ranking their preferences.  It may be that their most preferred candidate or party has very little chance of winning in their particular constituency.  Tactical voting is one means by which electors can maximise the value of their vote.  Tactical voting involves people voting, not for their most preferred candidate, but rather voting in order to prevent their least favoured candidate from winning.  So, for instance, a Labour supporter might vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate in their constituency in order to prevent a Tory candidate from winning the seat.  This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in marginal constituencies—where the margin between candidates is very slim. † More

FPTP puts smaller parties at a disadvantage.  It is a ‘winner takes all’ system.  The candidate who gains the majority of votes in his or her constituency wins the constituency seat, and the losing candidates receive no recognition at all, no matter how many votes they might have received.  This is hardest on small parties whose support is not geographically concentrated, but spread out across the country.  The Jenkins Commission suggested this was also perverse: a party’s breadth of appeal should be something which counts towards its electoral success—instead it is under-rewarded.

Term

The UK currently has no fixed parliamentary term, though this does not dictate that a Parliament may endure indefinitely. The maximum duration of any Parliament is limited to 5 years by the Septennial Act 1715 (as amended by the Parliament Act 1911). The Queen exercises the prerogative power to dissolve Parliament before the maximum five-year period, though this is normally done on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill, introduced by the coalition on the 22nd July 2010, aims to change the current system by introducing fixed parliamentary terms of five years- meaning that the date of the election would be automatically set for the fifth anniversary of the last general election.† More

The Bill currently before Parliament also proposes measures for dissolving Parliament before the end of the fixed term. The current convention is for Parliament to be immediately dissolved following a vote of no confidence, which requires a simple majority in order to be passed. Under the new bill, a vote for immediate dissolution would require a two thirds majority of MPs, including vacant seats. A simple majority would be sufficient for a vote of no confidence but there would then ensue a period of two weeks in which the House would have the opportunity to pass a vote of confidence in a new government, and so avoid a general election. Parliament would only dissolve if a new government had not been endorsed in this way within fourteen days.  
† More

Constituencies

Britain is presently divided into 650 constituencies, each constituency having one seat each in Parliament.  The drawing of constituency boundaries is an important issue, because inequalities in the size of constituencies can have a distorting effect on the outcome of a vote. 

By way of example: in 3 constituencies A, B and C, constituency A has 100 electors and constituencies B and C have 60 electors.  Two political parties contest an election, Orange and Brown.  In constituency A, Orange wins 90 votes, Brown 10.  In each of Consituencies B and C Orange wins 29 votes and Brown 31.  Orange will have one MP, Brown will have 2 and therefore will form the government, even though, overall it has polled much less than half of the votes cast in all 3 constituencies.  If there are more than two parties standing in each constituency, the results tend to be more exaggerated, with an even smaller proportion of the vote being able to secure a victory.

Another issue is the question of so-called gerrymandering - the process whereby constituency boundaries are drawn in order to gain a political advantage, for example by splitting an area known for its strong sympathies to a particular political party into two or more constituencies and mixing the voters together with voters of different political views in adjoining constituencies.  

The existence of the Boundary Commission an 'advisory non-departmental public body funded by the Ministry of Justice' is designed to ensure that boundaries will be drawn by reference to a set of impartial rules and thus to ensure fairness in the relative sizes of constituencies and to outlaw gerrymandering.  Nevertheless, it requires the cooperation of the government of the day to act promptly on recommendations to ensure the integrity of constituencies.  Moreover, the remit of the Commission is to maintain a broad-brush surveillance on boundaries on a permanent basis, but it only formally reviews all Parliamentary boundaries at 8-12-year intervals.  This means that general elections may be fought on data that is 10 years old.  This leads some to call for greater scrutiny and more regulation of the way constituencies are drawn.  † More

The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill currently before Parliament contains provisions to reduce the total number of constituencies and thus of MPs from 650 to 600.  It wil equalise the size of constituencies so that all have the same number of registered electors (expected to be 76,000) plus or minus 5%.† More

Voters

Those who may vote in general elections in the UK are British nationals and citizens of Ireland and the Commonwealth resident in the UK over the age of 18 who are registered on the electoral roll.  Those who cannot vote include members of the House of Lords, sentenced prisoners, those convicted of corrupt or illegal electoral practices, and those not on the electoral register.  

Registration

If a person is legally eligible, he or she can apply individually to be added to the electoral register.  In addition, in autumn there is a canvass of every household to check for eligible voters.  The householder must give details of all eligible occupants, as well as those who will turn 18 within the next year.  The process differs for Northern Ireland, which has a history of electoral fraud. † More

Postal voting

A postal vote option is now available on demand to all registered voters.  This was seen as a means of increasing election turnout. A person who is already on the electoral register can apply to vote by post. This can be done by filling out and signing an application form and returning the completed form to the local electoral registration office. Ballot papers are then sent about a week before election day. These must be filled in, signed and sent back so that they are received on or before election day. Electors can specify the time for which they wish to vote by post: for one election, a specific time period, or permanently if in the UK.

 

Postal voting has been the subject of some controversy after it became available on demand because of the lax security requirements and the potential for voter fraud.  In 2005, a judge found that six Labour Party representatives in the 2004 Birmingham local elections had committed systematic fraud with at least 3500 votes cast fraudulently.  They were able to do this because the postal voting system had a number of flaws, including:

• The registration process, which could not guarantee that the application had been made by the voter in question; and allowed the ballot paper to be sent to an address different to that of the registered elector
• There were no means of verifying signatures, or the names and addresses of witnesses
• Easily identifiable returning envelopes
• Returning officers had no powers of investigating fraud; and the police had limited knowledge of electoral law
• The means by which fraud could be investigated was seen as unwieldy

 

These flaws led to the enactment of the Electoral Administration Act 2006, which in particular set out offences for postal fraud, and gave greater powers to police to investigate such allegations.  It also set out new requirements for postal voting, such as requiring that signatures and dates of births to be provided on postal vote applications and statements, so that checks can be carried out (electoral administrators are required to check at least 20% of all postal votes); and introduces a marked register of postal votes received. The Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 also made changes to the postal registration process, including requiring reasons for the re-direction of postal votes and outcomes of applications for postal voting to be confirmed in writing. † More

 

Since Birmingham, there have been other allegations of postal voting fraud. † More

Candidates

Anyone who is a British national, a citizen of Ireland or the Commonwealth and who is resident in the UK over the age of 18 may stand as a candidate at a general election.  Those who cannot stand as candidates include members of the House of Lords, lunatics, bankrupts, civil servants, senior government officials, judges, members of the armed forces and the police. † More

4134 candidates stood in 649 constituencies in the general election in 2010. † More

Political Parties

Most candidates — but not all — belong to a political party.  Membership of a political party is not a pre-requisite of standing as a candidate.  Political parties are associations of people bound together by history and ideology.  They organise candidates, provide funding and policy support.  For most of the post-war period, Parliament and government have been dominated by two major parties: the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.  But the last quarter of a century has seen the ascent of the Liberal Democrats as a third political party of influence in British politics.  There are other parties: at the 2010 election, these other parties gained 28 seats at Westminster, or just over 4% of Parliament, having polled just under 12% of the vote.

Administration

The administration of a general election is the responsibility of the returning officer of each constituency, a person chosen by the local council. The procedures for the administration of general elections are set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983.† More

The administration of the general election in 2010 unexpectedly became a highly controversial issue when, in several constituencies, the administrators found themselves unable to cope with the numbers who turned up to vote.  This resulted in a number of people being turned away from polling stations and unable to vote, despite having arrived in good time to cast their ballot. † More

Established in 2000, the independent Electoral Commission has a number of duties, including overseeing the registration of, donations to, and campaign expenditure of political parties.  It also advises government on proposed changes to electoral law, assists those involved in elections and determines the boundaries of local government constituencies.† More

The determination of constituency boundaries is dealt with by the Boundary Commissions of the 4 nations.  A regular review of constituency boundaries is needed to ensure that the relative size of constituencies remain roughly similar to preserve the principle of ‘one person, one vote’.† More

Finance

The cost of administering the 2005 general election was £80 million.† More

There are strict limits on the amounts that political parties can spend on electoral campaigning in the 365 days leading up to an election.  This is monitored by the Electoral Commission. † More

Additionally there are separate limits on the amount that may be spent by individual candidates on their electoral campaigns in the lead-up to an election.† More

By way of example in the 2005 general election, political party election expenditure was as follows:

 

• Labour = £17.94 million; number of constituencies contested = 627
• Conservatives = £17.85 million; number of constituencies contested = 627
• Liberal Democrats = £4.32 million; number of constituencies contested = 626† More
  +

  Source: FN Forman and NDJ Baldwin Mastering British Politics (fifth edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2007). More about party campaign expenditure canbe found at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/election-spending

 

New rules on candidate expenditure are coming into force as a result of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009, which applied in the 2010 general election.† More

The 2010 General Election Results were as follows:

	Votes Aquired	Seats won	% of seats	% of vote	% of electorate
Conservative	10.7m	306	47	36.1	23
Labour	8.6m	258	39.6	29	18.5
Liberal Democrats	6.8m	57	8.7	23	14.6
Others	2.96m	28	4.3	11.8	7.5
Total	29.6m	649	99.84	100	63.8
Non-voters	16.8m
Total	46.4m

Note, the vote in the Yorkshire constituency of Thirsk and Malton will not take place until May 2010, as a result of the death of one of the candidates during the campaigning period

 
The 2005 General Election Results were as follows:

	Votes Aquired	Seats won	% of seats	% of vote	% of electorate
Labour	9.55m	355	55.0	35.2	21.6
Conservative	8.77m	198	30.6	32.3	19.9
Liberal Democrats	5.98m	62	9.6	22.1	13.6
Others	2.82m	31	4.8	10.4	6.4
Total	27.12m	646	100	100	61.5
Non-voters	16.99m
Total	44.11m

† More

The European Parliament

The composition of the European Parliament is determined by proportional representation, although the exact form of proportional representation differs from member state to member state.  In the UK we use the Single Transferable Vote system.  There are 785 MEPs in the European Parliament, elected by 27 EU countries.

The UK is represented by 72 MEPs in the European Parliament.  The UK is divided into 12 constituencies, each constituency having between 3-10 MEPs.  The nine English regions elected 59 MEPs, Scotland elected six MEPs and Wales four MEPs.  In Northern Ireland three MEPs were elected under its own system of proportional representation.  Residents in Gibraltar vote in the South West Region.

The European Parliament is a fixed term parliament, with elections constitutionally required every 5 years.† More

The Scottish Parliament

The composition of the Scottish Parliament is determined by a proportional representation system (AMS).  There are 129 MSPs in the Scottish Parliament: 73 are elected by constituency vote and the remaining 56 by party vote.  Elections are fixed—constitutionally required—every 4 years.† More

The Welsh National Assembly

The composition of the Welsh National Assembly is determined by a proportional representation system (AMS).  There are 60 AMs (Assembly Members): 40 are elected by constituency vote and the remainder by party vote.  There is a fixed 4-year electoral term.† More

The Northern Ireland Assembly

The composition of the Northern Ireland Assembly is determined by a proportional representation system (STV).  There are 108 MLAs (members of the Legislative Assembly), representing 18 constituencies.  Each constituency is represented by 6 MLAs.  There is a fixed 4-year term. † More

The Greater London Authority

The London Mayor and the London Assembly are determined by 3 different electoral systems.  The Mayor is elected by first past the post where there are only 2 candidates; if there are more than 2 candidates, the SV system is used.  The London Assembly is determined by proportional representation (AMS).  There are 25 London Assembly members: 14 Assembly Members each represent one of the 14 constituencies; the remainder represent London as a whole.  There is a fixed 4-year term for the Assembly and Mayor. † More

Local Government

The nature and structure of local government depends on location. In England and Wales, the electoral system is FPTP, but the individual constituencies for councillors (often referred to as 'wards') are much smaller than the constituencies used in a general election; in Scotland and Northern Ireland the STV is used.  Elections are held every 4 years. † More

Unelected officials

Members of the House of Lords are not elected, but are either hereditary peers or are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.  European Commissioners are not elected, but a Commissioner for each member state is appointed by his or her government.  In the UK this means that the European Commissioner is appointed by the Prime Minister.  The President of the European Commission is chosen by a majority vote of European Commissioners, whilst the 14 vice Presidents are usually nominated by informal agreement without a vote.  The President of the European Union is chosen by informal agreement between the heads of the states comprising the European Union, as are the appointments to the other senior positions created by the Lisbon Treaty, such as the EU Trade Commissioner. 

 

Referendums

Referendums require a direct vote of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by the electorate on a particular issue.  Most Western nations have the machinery for referendums, but use them infrequently. Referendums are generally used to resolve issues relating to the constitution, territory and self-determination, and morality.

In Britain, there have been 9 referendums held on ‘constitutional’ issues, involving proposed shifts in power to a particular tier of government.  Only one of these was nation-wide: the referendum on whether or not Britain should remain within the European Community. † More

Until recently, referendums have been rarely held, the key reason being the belief that Parliament, rather than the people, ought to make major political decisions.  In practice, referendums have only been held because the governing political party has been split internally over an issue, although this may be changing.  A referendum is currently proposed to determine whether the electoral system used to elect MPs to the UK Parliament should change from the First Past the Post system to a system of Alternative Voting. 

It should be noted that the outcome of any referendum is not necessarily binding on the government, or Parliament.

The Electoral Reform Society
http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/


Make My Vote Count
http://www.makemyvotecount.org.uk/


Vote for a Change
http://www.voteforachange.co.uk/

Campaign for fixed-term parliaments
http://www.fixedterm.org.uk/

Joseph Rowntree Trust Purity of Elections in the UK: Cause for Concern
http://www.jrrt.org.uk/uploads/Purity%20of%20Elections%20in%20the%20UK.pdf

General - electoral process

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Alternative Voting

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Fixed-term Parliaments

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Constituency boundaries

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General - electoral process

Research papers

Voting Systems in the UK House of Commons Library

UK Election Statistics 1918-2004 House of Commons Library

The Parliamentary Boundary Commissions House of Commons Library

Parliamentary reports

Choosing an Electoral System  British Academy; Simon Hix, Ron Johnston FBA and Iain McLean FBA 

Changed Voting Changed Politics Independent Commission on Proportional Representation

The Experience of New Voting Systems in the United Kingdom since 1997 Ministry of Justice

Key Websites

House of Commons Library

The UK Electoral Commission

About My Vote

The UK Office of the European Parliament

The Boundary Commissions for the 4 nations:
*    England
*    Scotland
*    Wales
*    Northern Ireland

UK Polling Report

Further reading

John Curtice “The Electoral System” in Vernon Bogdanor (ed) The British Constitution in the Twentieth Century (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003)


Rodney Brazier Constitutional Reform: Reshaping the British Political System (third edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007)


Anthony King The British Constitution (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007)


Adrian Blau “Majoritarianism under Pressure: The Electoral and Party Systems” in Robert Hazell (ed) Constitutional Futures: Britain’s Constitution till 2020 (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2008)

Vernon Bogdanor The New British Constitution (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2009)

Alternative Voting

Bills

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Select Committees

Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee

            - First report -Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

            - Third report - Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

            - Summary of written evidence

Briefing papers

"AV and electoral reform" briefing paper, House of Commons Library

"Alternative Voting" briefing paper, The Constitution Society

Public opinion on AV and the referendum- results of YouGov poll, The Constitution Society

TCS articles

Referendum campaign funding rules

71% think independent body should draft referendum question

Fixed-term Parliaments

Bills

Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

Select Committees

Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee

             - Second report - Fixed-term Parliaments Bill

Briefing papers

"Fixed-term Parliaments", House of Commons Library

TCS articles

The unseemly haste to introduce fixed-term Parliaments

Constituency boundaries

Bills

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Select Committees

Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee

            - First report -Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

            - Third report - Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

Research papers

Can the Boundary Commissions Help the Conservative Party? Constituency Size and Electoral Bias in the UK, Ron Johnston, Iain Mclean, Charles Pattie, David Rossiter in The Political Quarterly, December 2009.

Parliamentary Constituency Boundary Reviews and Electoral Bias: How Important Are Variations in Constituency Size?, Ron Johnston, Galina Borisyuk, Colin Rallings, Michael Thrasher in Parliamentary Affairs, December 2009.

Drawing a new Parliamentary Constituencies Map for the UK, Michel Balinski, Ron Johnston, Iain McLean and Peyton Young, with research assistance from Angela Cummine, The British Academy