first past the post

first past the post

1. noun The first person to reach a particular goal. Primarily heard in UK. I'm so proud of my daughter—she was first past the post in this morning's race.
2. adjective Describing a system of voting in which the candidate with the most votes wins. In this usage, the phrase is typically hyphenated. Primarily heard in UK. You didn't have the most votes, so, in this first-past-the-post system, you don't win the seat.
See also: first, past, post
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

first past the post

If someone is first past the post in a race or competitive situation, they finish first or achieve something first. Note: The following expressions refer to the finishing post in a horse race. First past the post was Kenyan athlete John Mutai, who beat Irishman Jerry Healy by just 20 seconds.
See also: first, past, post
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

first past the post

1 (of a contestant, especially a horse, in a race) winning a race by being the first to reach the finishing line. 2 denoting an electoral system whereby a candidate or party is selected by achievement of a simple majority. British
See also: first, past, post
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • be first past the post
  • be first out of the box
  • first go
  • first blood
  • be the first (person) to (do something)
  • first leg
  • for a start
  • first in, best dressed
  • first things first
  • refusal
References in periodicals archive
A provincial election called before this date would use First Past the Post.
The actual result under first past the post saw the Conservatives win 317 seats, Labour 262, Liberal Democrats 12, Ukip none, the Green Party one, the SNP 35 and Plaid Cymru four.
With the adoption of a new 30-30 split between first past the post and regional Assembly Members, that majority would go from a faint possibility to an impossible dream.
But the first past the post system meant that in spite of being the largest party in the Scottish Parliament he ended up with just six UK MPs.
The survey carried out by YouGov shows that 52 per cent of Scots support replacing first past the post with AV, 33 per cent are against the change and 16 per cent don't know or won't vote.
A candidate who gains 50% of the votes on the first round will be elected automatically as under first past the post. A voter need only vote for one candidate and there will be one MP per constituency.
BET365 have made a change to their ante-post rules by announcing that they will pay out on both the first past the post and the official result.
But, when it comes to a 'Horse' overcoming remarkable hurdles, promoting a vital cause and bringing Christmas cheer, then one of the region's favourite footballers was first past the post last week.
CHAOS reigned at Kelso yesterday when Humourous was disqualified for taking the wrong course after being first past the post in the 3.50.
In the UK we have a strange state of affairs where some elections are by proportional representation and others are first past the post.
The 1998 elections revealed once again the distortions caused by the "first past the post" electoral system.
There are 129 seats (for a population of about 5 million) with 73 constituencies where the person receiving the most votes is declared elected (termed first past the post or constituency seats).
The committee report recommended for European elections "that the party list system is abandoned in favour of first past the post and a constituency-based system in which the electors know for whom they are voting to represent them in a given area".
Her Esha Ness was first past the post in the void race three years ago.
Arguing that parties should no longer expect to win outright majorities and that the first past the post election system is no longer fit for purpose, the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP said: "The Westminster elite need to understand that the era of the Labour-Tory duopoly and the age of majority governments is coming to an end due to the way these parties have politically converged...