I am watching The Daily Politics. Andrew Neil has just said that the Liberal Democrats declined to put anyone up to discuss electoral reform. Apparently we wanted to hear what Gordon Brown has to say first.
The Alternative Vote is not the electoral system the Liberal Democrats favour: it is not a proportional system at all as it tends to exaggerate landslides.
Does this refusal to discuss the subject betray a disagreement at the highest levels of the Lib Dems over whether we should support AV if it is offered?
Remember this intervention by Norman Lamb.
4 comments:
I suppose we'll see how interested the politicians are in electoral reform for a proportional system or whether they just want it to increase the LibDem vote.
AV should not be accepted, it is not proportional and smacks of more playing politics with the voting system.
The question is whether we support electoral reform because it is in our interests or because it is in the interest of the country.
If we support electoral reform out of self interest then we should support AV because it will deliver more Lib Dem MPs.
If, on the other hand, we support electoral reform, out of principle, because it is in the interest of the country that everyone has as near as possible an equal voice and right to be represented then we should oppose AV because it is not any more proportional than what we have.
Sadly, Peter Lee has just died suddenly. He spoke memorably at conference some years ago in favour of AV, and claimed that he really though it was easier to sell to the voters than STV. I always though he was flying a kite for someone in the leadership, though he denied it.
A sad loss to the party though, as he was reliably jolly and very energetic for us in Cambridge.
See my open letter to William Hague re. proportional representation at http://herbeppel.blogspot.com/2009/05/open-letter-to-william-hague-time-to.html
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