The UK Election!!!!

I could ask you the same question Got to say I was suprised to find out who you are/were: I remember thinking when you arrived (as Hyro) that I could not get a handle on which side of the fence you were on.Like the albino Vader...

Actually, it's a "Hello Kitty" Vader.

That's probably because when I got here under the pseudonym of "Hyro" I probably didn't know what side of the fence I was on either. I'm still evolving. Or maybe I'm a perennial fence-sitter.

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"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from mistaken conviction." — Blaise Pascal

Sounds as if I wouldn't like any of those parties based on the descriptions.

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"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from mistaken conviction." — Blaise Pascal

Well, it's nice to see old names popping back here; hope it pathes the way for other exodites to return.

The deep cynic in me says that it is the current government's way of justifying it's ideological position by seeking ill considered and largely reactionary public opinion in those areas where it thinks those two things are compatible.The optimist in me believes that this is a whole new form of politics, that a new dawn has broken, and that we can look forward to a politics of people-power that none of us could have even envisaged before May this year.Guess which of the two versions of me is winning that internal struggle....Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

A decent synopsis. And now we have the Labour party soul searching it's identity and looking for it's next leader.I am seriously considering joining the Labour party so as to be able to vote on that issue.AbE - I was a member as a student but gave up membership at the point they started (outrageously in my view at the time) wanting to charge me a membership subscription.Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

We in the UK are having a referendum!! The first in 30/40 years and (I believe) only the second one ever.We are voting on whether to change our parliamentary electoral system from First Past The Post to AV (Alternative Vote) AKA Instant Runoff (in the US).Any thoughts? Any Aussies who have experience of AV? Any UK members who have actually voted?I voted YES this morning.Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.

I voted yes this morning as well, but I'm not hopeful.TTFN,WK

A year ago there seemed to be a broad consensus that electoral reform was needed. Since then the mood has changed and it is looking increasingly unlikely.Certainly it is looking like something of a landslide for the 'No's in this referendum.

I think the referendum is being viewed as a bizarre and unnecesaary distraction from the far more immediate concerns for the economy...

I think it is being viewed as a way to give Nick Clegg a kick in the teeth, a view that the No campaign has been happy to promulgate.Much as I might like to give Nick Clegg a figurative kick in the teeth I'd rather not throw away possibly the only chance we'll get for a generation or more to do something about the iniquities of the current voting system. And I don't want to not vote for it just because the economy has tanked either, though I'm sure the No vote camp would be happy with that result as well.TTFN,WK

Can anyone point me to good description of the opposition to this reform? Why wouldn’t you want to define your opinion to a higher degree? Are the mechanics of the proposal wrong?Here in Canada the Conservative party just won 54.2% of the seats in parliament with 39.6% of the popular vote. The Liberals 11% of the seats with 18.9% of the votes. The Green Party won .003% of the seats in parliament with 3.9% of the popular vote. The New Democrats got 33% of seats with 30.6% of the votes.This just seems wrong. Wouldn’t the AV proposal reduce this discrepancy?

• AV is costly (citing $250 million in costs)
• AV is complex and unfair (citing people that come second in the first round can still win)
• AV leads to more hung parliaments, backroom deals and broken promises

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The only argument against AV of those you cite that I think has any real merit is the last one. Coalition government does arguably result in manifesto pledges being completely discarded on the basis of coalition "compromise". Thus making political manifestos little more than wish lists.However I am unconvinced that manifesto pledges were much more than that anyway. And (assuming the Lib Dems haven't wiped themselves out in the longer term with their current unpopularity) the UK seemed to be heading for a 3 party system where coalition would be the norm even via the first past the post system.It isn't the most considered of reasons but I think the whole system could have benefited from a shake-up generally. On top of that I do think that a 'No' in this referendum marks the effective death of any more progress on any electoral reform for a considerable amount of time. Whereas AV, if implemented and found wanting, would have been the first step towards something else.Out of interest - Did you vote and if so what for? Feel free to ignore that question if you don't want to answer it however.Edited by Straggler, : No reason given.