The Electoral College is a similar idea to the UK's own system of parliamentary seats, although with major differences.
Theoretically, in the UK you vote for a local MP. This MP may, or may not, represent a political party. The party with the most MPs voted in gets to run the country and it's own leader becomes PM. This leads to issues of 'popular' versus 'significant' votes in the same way as the USA, because an MP's voting constituency may be very small compared to another, yet his appointment is equal (i.e. a single House of Commons seat). It is entirely possible (indeed, probable) to win more seats yet have less overall votes nationally.
The major difference between the UK and USA during elections is that we vote for individual MPs and not for our PM.
