ELECTORAL REFORM:The principal advantage of first-past-the-post voting is that it delivers majority government; except that it no longer does so in the UK, writes MARK HENNESSY
PROPORTIONAL representation was one of the main planks of the Liberal Democrats’ election campaign, but party leader Nick Clegg must now decide if something less will be enough to break the mould of British politics.
The Liberal Democrats, after a honeymoon campaign that went badly wrong at the end, are never going to reshape the House of Commons under the existing system.
Having glimpsed the Promised Land but now feeling bruised by a result which left the party with smaller numbers, the Liberal Democrats are more determined than ever to push for electoral reform.
Conservative leader David Cameron won almost half the seats with 37 per cent of the vote, while the Liberal Democrats secured just one in ten with 23 per cent.
“The sense of outrage about this in our team is palpable,” said one Liberal source yesterday. “It is now very obvious what the issue is. Electoral reform must be it. It is no longer just a background issue but it is central to the legitimacy of the next government.”
Labour, desperate for power, is already offering concessions, though not, so far, a cast-iron commitment to hold a referendum on the Lib Dems’ preferred form of proportional representation, the Irish Single Transferable Vote (STV) system. Instead, Labour is offering the partially proportional Alternative Vote (AV), or proportional Alternative Vote Plus (AV+).
Gordon Brown hinted that there might be a little more in the tank to offer when he said the British people would decide in a referendum what system they want, but Mr Brown’s track record on the issue would not inspire confidence in a Liberal Democrat.
Used in Australia, the Alternative Vote (AP) allows voters in single-seat constituencies to rank candidates in order of preference.
Lower ranking candidates are eliminated, their preferences transferred, and counting continues until one gets 50 per cent.
Under Alternative Vote Plus (AP+), voters cast two votes. The first is cast and counted , as in AP, in individual constituencies. With the second, however, they vote at national or regional level for a party, creating a list which allows parties to have their share of seats topped up to correspond with their overall share of the vote.
Either system would improve the Liberal Democrats’ lot, although the simple AP system can be wildly disproportional if votes are spread evenly throughout the country.
AP+ produces a similar, often better, proportionality than Ireland’s STV system.
Gordon Brown’s conversion to reform has been late, and mercenary. Before the election began he guaranteed to hold a referendum later this year on AV, but then did not push through the necessary legislation before parliament fell.
Now, however, it is his only hope of staying in power, though significant changes to the electoral system would not find favour with Labour MPs in heartland districts, since the existing system suits them best.
Cameron is in a bind since he believes in first-past-the-post, and does not want to concede anything. His parliamentary party and grassroots are even more opposed.
Yesterday, he offered a parliamentary committee of inquiry, nothing more.
However, Cameron’s chances of staying in power for very long leading a minority government, given the difficult economic and taxation decisions ahead, are very limited, and victory in a second election within a year would be a challenge. For now, STV is not on the table. The Liberal Democrats will have to decide on whether it is best to take an AV or AV+ (half-a-loaf), rather than no bread, and risk missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity.