P.G.Hamer wrote:
> Ignoring any non-UK aspect of the situation ...
>
> I think that there are two issues here. Firstly, is it OK to have a parliament
> whose allegiances match that of the overall popular vote. Secondly, how do
> you decide who gets elected.
>
> I am comparatively unworried about the first issue (although some european
> countries may be having problems with the really extreme right-wing parts
> of their electorate).
I don't there is a necessary link between right-wing extreme parties and PR.
PR can allow minorities into parliament (which may or may not be extreme).
However, non-PR systems tend to favour local/regional parties which are
sometimes strongly nationalist. Also, extreme right-wing parties tend to
decline after election (as they usually can't deliver on their rhetoric). (The
German system has a 5% threshold for national seats - so PR type systems can
be designed to diminish small minority repreesentation).
> I am much more worried by the second issue. Taking the first N names from
> a list produced by the party machines seems to put far too much power in
> the hands of the party machines. There are candidates in both main parties
> I respect, and others I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. A mixture of
> voting for candidates and voting for a party list would be bettter. [I think
> that a lot of people from both main parties got some satisfaction from
> Prtilllo's non-election.]
List systems are not the only PR system. In fact PR lobby groups in the UK
almost universially favour STV (single transferable vote system with
multi-member constituencies). Having said that, list top-up systems have a
similar effect in practice as safe seats in FPTP elections, so I think are
marginally preferable in terms of fairness.
> On the other hand it would be nice to be enfranchised in some sense. The
> outcome of the election in my constituency is essentially pre-ordained by
> the demographics. Neither of the parties I favour stand a chance.
>
> Peter
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