Lib Dem got 3.5mil votes and have 71 seats, Sinn Fein have 210,000 and seven seats
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The problem is winning the “most votes” not “some votes”. Reform contested in many areas where although they have support, it wasn’t sufficient to overcome the most popular candidate. If a party contexts 100 seats and gets an even 15% vote share in all 100 seats but in every one of those seats, the most popular candidate got 16% of the vote, then that party wins 0 seats.
Still it was a pretty strong showing for a new party to even win 4 seats and achieve a 14+% vote share overall. More established parties have their “strongholds” and generally can count on a few “near guaranteed” wins.
There are both pros and cons of this kind of system. It forces a majority party to at least try to win over a plurality of the voters and this usually moderates their position. On the other hand, it can feel disenfranchising to a minority who may have very strong convictions that are narrowly held in the broader populace.
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