If no one candidate wins an overall majority, the candidate who received the least first-choice votes is eliminated and the second choices of the voters who backed them are allocated to the other candidates. This process continues until one candidate obtains an overall majority. It ensures all MPs are credible, having been elected by an absolute majority of their constituents. The thousands who don't wish to back the one of the major political parties still remain disenfranchised. This mixed system, combining constituencies and a top-up vote, was proposed by the highly respected Jenkins Commission on the voting system in 1998.
Voters have two votes.
These MPs form four-fifths of the House of Commons. With the other they vote for a candidate on a region list produced by the political parties. It retains the constituency link between people and parliament and yet its top-up formula helps correct imbalances in any FPTP or AV voting system. Reducing the number of constituency MPs increases constituency size, meaning people may feel less close to their MPs. Two categories of MPs are created and, as they are elected in different ways, they may come to have different status.