Is the supposedly desirable characteristic the UK’s First Past the Post electoral system. But is it actually desirable? The Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, has apparently written in various Sunday newspapers, in the light of the very sad murder of a second MP in recent times, about the need to end hatred… Read more
Category:
Electoral Reform
Whose Sovereignty exactly?
This was in Saturday’s Times: And the Baron of Siberia bit had to get permission from Putin. Now, joy of joys, it has been granted. We have a Baron of Siberia in the House of Lords – that must be what the Conservatives meant by taking the money, sorry, taking back control…. Read more
Victims of the “the overwhelming might of the state”
This is a quote from Rishi Sunak, who is profiled in ‘Tatler’, which although I feel sure absolutely all our readers subscribe to, I will offer the link nonetheless. When your Chancellor is in ‘Tatler’ you have to realise that he has arrived – even if none of the rest of us has. (The article… Read more
Consequences of electoral systems
I suggest this short piece referenced by Owen Jones is worth a watch – even when – or perhaps especially when, it comes from Fox News America, with it’s disastrous electoral college is in a similar situation to the UK – the voting system is unfit for purpose – allowing the winner to take all…. Read more
A Mythical PR Party? – A guest post by Fen C, @fencoul (Twitter).
Introduction What happened to the United Kingdom? The answer is “a lot”, and not much of it very good. What can be done to get the SS United Kingdom back on an even keel? Here’s an idea: opposition parties collaborating. “Hasn’t that already failed?” I hear you ask. “If at first, you don’t succeed, try,… Read more
Winner takes all is destructive of politics – and democracy
A wonderfully graphic image of how our voting system is, as it were – no, as it is – disproportinate: This winner takes all is also, it occurs to me, very destructive of political engagement. Why would you choose to vote in a contest in which, once over, you are completely ignored? As an example… Read more
‘Our democracy’ is highly undemocratic
These statistics are from the Electoral Reform Society for the recent general election. I wonder if all those youthful Labour campaigners would like to know that, for all their effort, they got a third less MPs than they would have done if they were Conservatives – and half as many as the SNP. But pity… Read more