Tuesday 3 May 2011

Pantomime politics

Recently a wedding and a funeral have conspired to keep the AV referendum at the bottom of the news agenda, but it deserves more attention.

The First Past The Post (FPTP) system has allowed our democracy to flounder in a evolutionary eddy. With FPTP there is no incentive for cooperation or constructive debate. Instead we are poorly served by the "Oh yes we will!" and "Oh no you won't!" pantomime politics we so commonly see in our House of Commons today.

AV would be a great leap forward in evolutionary terms. Parliamentary candidates would have to work much harder to be returned as an MP for their constituency, requiring more than 50% of the vote, rather than a simple majority. Party politics would focus more positively on the policy similarities with their rivals in order to garner secondary votes. Coalition governments would be more likely, but this would foster a more adult and collaborative approach to government.

There is a fear that AV would lead to a succession of weak and indecisive coalitions, but I doubt the electorate would re-elect politicians who put party politics before the needs of the nation. Besides we've seen the Con-Dem coalition in action, and though no one got what they voted for, at least they are proving that coalitions are no less effective than a majority government.

The "No" campaign are trying to mobilise the over-50's age group to vote, on the expectation that this group will vote like fuddy duddies for the status quo. The "No" campaign are claiming that AV is too complex for the electorate to understand. How patronising.

Which ever option you favour - get out on Thursday and vote. People have died in their thousands this year in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria fighting for the right to have a legitimate say in the running of their countries. Show your solidarity, respect their sacrifice, and that of our own forebears who fought for the universal suffrage we enjoy today in the UK - exercise your right to vote.

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