UK Referendum On Voting Systems
In a few hours the polls will open for Referendum on the voting system for the UK Parliament.
The polls trend towards the rejection of the referendum, which is too bad. I think it would be nice if everyone could use the ‘alternative vote’ system in the general election, and not just the major parties when they select their leaders. If it is good enough to select the Prime Minister, it should work for the other members of Parliament.
Then again, I believe in a lot of weird things like: democracy, capitalism, and the US Constitution, so what do I know.
2 comments
AV is not much of an improvement over First past the post. It won’t lead to continuous coalitions, minor parties will not find it much easier to gain election and the mjor parties will win seats out of all proportion to the level of votes cast.Had there been a referendum on Proportional Referendum I would have been utterly in favour.
I thought I would vote no but in the end I voted yes, not that it would make a huge difference in the outcome
Oh, it is definitely only an incremental improvement. In a proportional system, like Germany’s, even the small parties have some room to breathe, and to make a difference.
Canada’s election is an example of what FPTP produces – 60% voted against them, but the Conservatives have a majority in Parliament. The same thing happens in the US, and people are expected to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils, because minor parties are blocked by state and Federal laws from having an equal chance in elections. New York has a hybrid system that would require a book to explain, but it is marginally more democratic than other states.
The real problem is that most governments tend to be based on property, where you live, rather than people, and that flaw resulted in the US Civil War.