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The following text is an excerpt from "Les systèmes électoraux", published in the collection "Que sais-je" by "Presses Universitaries de France".

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(...) In the case of a two-party system, the effects of the electoral system are much easier to identify when it leads to a two-party system, as in Great Britain; this system of parties (...) can be considered the combination of the following four elements: the electoral monopoly of two political parties, the strong structure of these parties, their agreement on the rules of political action and their alternation in power. It is ascertained that a one-round majority ballot relates to an electoral duopoly, the strong structure and national rootedness of the conservative and labour parties; their alternation in power is also a result of the electoral system. In fact, the fundamental factor leading to alternation is the so-called "fluctuant vote", that is, the mass of electors who are not irremovably faithful to a given party and, failing to find a party they like, choose one or the other party according to the circumstance. According to the law of the cube, a small shift of votes can lead to an important chan

ge in the division of seats and thus to a change of majority. Now, if we analyse British elections until 1974, we can see that each time they give the following results in percentage: Labour 42 percent, Tories 42 per cent, Liberals 8 per cent, fluctuant vote 8 per cent. Less than 10 per cent of the electorate can thus reverse the majority to the right or to the left. Such fluctuant electorate is represented chiefly by new voters - that is, the young - and by women, who are more sensitive to circumstances compared to men and are less stable in their opinions, and would vote for a liberal candidate if they did not fear wasting their vote. Globally speaking, it is possible to locate this fluctuant vote at the centre, between the two major parties.

Fragility and permanence

Clearly, this phenomenon of alternation is not automatic, and favours more the Conservatives than Labour. In fact, the two-party system is in itself fragile, and has experienced a crisis since 1970. Nevertheless, its very fragility is the origin if its permanence; British parties must constantly supervise and reinforce their structure, work on their programs, choose officials that appeal to the electorate, check the maintenance of an electoral system which is the key to the whole political system.

We can say that the two-party system really determines the nature of the political system: the question is not a regime with a separation of powers, in conformity with the principles laid down by Montesquieu, but more precisely the government of one party, under the control of the other party and the supervision of the population. The party in power detains both legislative and executive power, the House of Commons passes the Cabinet's draft bills, therefore the bills of the staff of majority party, and approves nothing but those; at the House of Commons, the opposition controls the Government, criticizes its policy and lays forward solutions for a change to the electorate.

The electorate detains the keys of power

The impression might be that the electorate hardly intervenes in the process, and that the parties' electoral duopoly leads to conferring it the totality of power without the electors ever getting the feeling of taking part in the process. But in fact, this is all but true. The modest gap between the two parties gives the electorate an importance such as it has in no other place. Its passivity is only apparent; it is the electorate who detains the keys to power, and very firmly at that.

A study on British elections shows that they fulfil all the functions required by democratic principles, because they enable each voting citizen to choose his local representative, a governmental program, a parliamentary majority and the Prime Minister at the same time. The elections of the members of Parliament is both a referendum and a plebiscite. It has the effect of entrusting the process of political decision to the winning party, enabling the people, through the opposition party, to control the use made of such power.