General Election 2015: Is this the end of first past the post?

Video: Oliver Wright explains why first past the post may be witnessing its final days

(LEON NEAL | AFP | Getty Images)

The Liberal Democrats finally got their holy grail of a referendum on the voting system back in 2011, a reward for helping out the Tories in their hour of need after the 2010 election.

Yet, as with most things in the last five years of the coalition, it never went smoothly for the Lib Dems. The alternative vote system was not their preferred choice, but they tried their best to sell it to the people - and the public resoundingly stuck with first past the post.

However, the argument for first past the post - the "winner takes it all" scenario - has always been that it creates strong, decisive governments. With 2015 heading for another likely hung parliament, and with even more indecision over which parties can cobble together a majority, it seems that in today's realm of rainbow UK politics, the voting system is just too outdated.

Whitehall Editor Oliver Wright takes you through the intricacies of first past the post, the alternatives, and whether it's time to embrace proportional representation.