Pros
- List MPs can provide a second layer of representation should the voter feel their MP does not represent them
- Every party can potentially win seats in every area ensuring the government can’t ignore parts of the country.
- If the Regions are fairly large, 5 or more parties can be fairly represented
Cons
- Potential to keep Westminster’s ‘safe seats’ that rarely change hands, which reduces personal accountability (but safe seats can arise under any system)
- Closed list system places power to reward candidates in the hands of the political parties rather than the voters
- Closed list system creates two classes of MPs - the lack of accountability for non-constituency MPs is seen by some as an issue. Also voters sometimes have very low awareness or their regional list representatives
