Saving Labour Through PR
Neil Harding, a man known for his lack of original thought and shameless embracing of all the Nu Labour spin that is thrown at him, has turned against Gordon Brown - even to the point of calling him a moron. Fair play, I agree with Neil absolutely. And it really is a sign of the times when someone like Harding turns against the Labour PM so angrily.
However, his solution to the woes of the Labour government leave a lot to be desired.
"If Brown or Labour really want a legacy or a totemic issue to change public opinion then proportional representation is the answer."Solving the current economic woes of this nation might be a better legacy and way to change public opinion, but there we go. This sentence also cracks me up:
"Robin Cook stated that if Labour fail to change the electoral system while they have the chance that would be it's biggest failure."Only in the world of Neil Harding is the phrase "Robin Cook stated" a valid reason for doing something, rather than, as it is for the rest of us, a reason to ignore that idea. But Neil does go on and offer other reasons for PR. It is all about being fair, see?
"While Labour may be heading for defeat and are clearly not the choice of the electorate to rule alone, neither really is there any real enthusiasm for the Tories. Do people really want a Tory government with a massive majority when only about 25% of the electorate will vote for them (around 40% of the vote)?"And:
"If the Tories want more than 50% of the seats in parliament then they should have to win more than 50% of the vote."Huh. Yeah. See, I don't have any real enthusiasm for a Tory government at the next election - other than them being better than the shower of shits currently running this country. But there is something really skewered about Harding's logic - yes, there is an argument for the Tories having to win 50% of the vote if they want 50% of the seats. But shouldn't the same be said for Labour in the previous three general elections?
In fairness to him, Harding is consistent in his advocating of PR. But I fully expect other Labour supporters to suddenly be converted to Proportional Representation - it is pretty much the only thing that can save them from an electoral kicking the next time we all go to the polls. That is the problem with PR (and one of the main reasons why the Lib Dems consistently advocate it) - it is the refuge of the losers, those who cannot win elections using the existing rules.
There are arguments both for and against the introduction of PR. The fact that Brown has fucked up the chances of Labour winning the next election should not be one of them.
Labels: Brown, Brown-bashing, Getting Elected
posted by The Nameless Libertarian @ 9:35 am
5 Comments
5 Comments:
Agreed. It would have been nice to have this debate 11 years ago rather than at a time when the government is trying to find a way to screw the opposition.
Introducing PR would change the political face of this country and alter, for the better, the composition of parties & governments in future. Then, and only then, can we sort out our problems by ceasing to do such utter shit as we do now and starting to do things properly.
I'm in two minds about PR. On the one hand, it is fairer and would stop parties winning massive majorities when they have failed to win over a majority of the electorate. On the flipside, PR produces coalition governments, and they can often be compromised, stagnant and incapable administrations. Cast your eyes over to Italy, where they are on their 61st government since World War Two.
I'm all for getting rid of the utter shit, but I'm not sure how PR would help with that. In order to fundamentally change our political system, we need to change the ideologies and personalities of the "ruling" parties. Tinkering with the electoral system is not solving the problem, merely working around the edges of it.
All I want is a referendum on PR as promised in the manifesto. How come you right-wingers can support one on the EU treaty but not one on UK democracy? Smells of partizanship to me. I would welcome referendums on both issues.
In fairness I'm happy to have a referendum on both PR and the EU Treaty as well. Such fundamental changes to this country's constitution arguably should be put before the people.
Also I'm not totally against PR at all - I'm just not convinced that the benefits of it make is a stronger system that FPTP. And I am deeply suspicious of a major party like Labour making that case for PR after 11 years in power and at a time when their majority is finally under threat in the Commons.
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