Q1- Why was the 2010 General Election an unusual case?

It did not deliver a single party government so the electorate

could not be sure which party would govern them. Instead
they were given a coalition government, whose membership
and policies were determined behind closed doors in the days
following the election itself.
It did not deliver a government with a clear mandate. The
coalition agreement, which was negotiated after the poll, did
not have any mandate. It could not, because the electorate
did not see until after they had voted.
It delivered a false outcome in some ways. The Conservative
Party clearly dominates the coalition and its policies, but it did
not win the election. Some even say it lost the election.
Q2-What was the West Lothian Question?
The West Lothian Question is so-called because it was first
raised in the 1900s by Tom Dalyell, the MP for the West Lothian in
Scotland and an opponent of devolution. It has nothing to do with
the town of West Lothian itself. It is a complex issue but, brought to
its basics, it relates to this problem:
MPs in the UK parliament are elected from all parts of the
United Kingdom.
However, since the devolution of many powers to new
governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1998,
The UK Parliament in Westminster does not have any control
over a wide range of the devolved powers outside England, for
example, health, education, transport and local government.
It follows from this, that many issues controlled by the UK
Parliament relate only to England.
Despite this fact that many UK Parliament issues are only
about England all MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland can debate and vote on these issues. This is seen as
unfair and unrepresentative.
Etc. (Pg. 101 for rest of reasons)
It is the question of: if issues are based solely on England then
should Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs be allowed to debate
and vote? And vice versa. (Scottish Referendum)
Q3-What was the electoral issue considered in a 2011
referendum?
What side were the main parties on?
What was the outcome?
The electoral issue was to consider a system of proportional
representation due to 2010 coalition government. The Lib Dems
wanted a fairer way of deciding the government than FPTP. The
Conservatives agreed to hold a referendum on the AV system. It was
rejected and FPTP was kept in the general election. Seriously
damaged any future case for proportional representation. Win for
Conservatives (FPTP inflates their power) and loss for the Lib Dems
(main proposal to change electoral system).
Q4-What are the key features of STV in Northern Ireland?
There was a large number and variety of candidates 14 in
total
The large parties do not put up more candidates than they
expect to be elected.
The six elected were not from the same six who came top of
the first-preference votes.
The candidates at the bottom end of the poll were significant
in that some of the lower preferences on their ballots were
added to the more popular candidates. In other words, those
who supported such candidates as Burns or Watson did have
an influence on the overall result through their second, third
and subsequent preferences.
Etc. (Rest of key features on pg. 113)
Q5-What are the key features of AMS in Scotland and Wales?
Two-thirds of the seats are elected using FPTP, as for UK
general elections.
The other third of the seats are elected on the basis of closed
regional list voting.
There is an important variation in the regional list part of the
vote.
The variable top-up system adjusts the proportions of votes
cast on the list system.
This is a complex calculation, but, in essence, what happens is
the seats are awarded from the list system are adjusted to
give a more proportional result.
Parties that do less well in the constituencies have their
proportion of list votes adjusted upwards. Those that do
proportionally well under FPTP have their list votes adjusted
downwards.
The overall effect of variable top-up is to make the total result
close to proportional of the total votes cast in both systems.