It may be quirky, but it's our quirky
Okay the FPTP system isn't the greatest way to elect a Government and I'm sure that most people would favour a switch to some form of proportional representation or transferable vote system if it could guarantee that the House of Commons was truly democratically representative of the country's choice of ruling party, but what have the Conservative's got to do to win an election?
All the mud slinging, the economy in crisis, the national debt/deficit, the war in Afghanistan etc, they have fractured into separate issues, not one of the three leading parties is leading the public to vote their way on a cohesive vision of the future. Predictably Nick Clegg has got the Conservatives suffering from squeaky bum time and Labour have tried to woo him, whilst the Conservative's vision of big society, small government is being criticised for being ill-informed and a nanny state in a velvet glove.
Saturday morning polls suggest that, the Conservatives lack the support needed to guarantee a return to power after 13 years at the May 6 vote. A "hung parliament," is looking more likely since the good old days of the global oil crisis in 1974. Thursday's debate confirmed that the Conservatives are struggling to shake off the 'nasty' tag and that we now have a legitimate three-horse race after Nick Clegg showed once again he is a capable orator.
A Harris survey for the Daily Mail newspaper gave David Cameron's Conservatives a five-point lead on 34 percent, up three points since Monday, with Nick Clegg's Lib Dems down one on 29. Labour were unchanged on 26. A second poll by YouGov, in the Sun newspaper, had the centre-right Conservatives steady on 34, with the Liberal Democrats up one on 29, level with Labour, unchanged from the day before.
If these polls are reflected in the voting on 6th May Labour will once again be the biggest party, albeit in a hung parliament, with 282 of the 650 seats, compared to the Conservatives' 251. The Lib Dems may hold the balance of power because no party would secure the 326 seat majority.
Of course the way things are going with the right-wing newspaper coverage of the campaigning come the morning of 6th May we may wake to find that Nick Clegg's campaign is sponsored by Robert Mugabe and that his Dad was Stalin's fag at some swanky public school for chinless wonders in leafy Bucks, which would only lead to one possible question, why isn't he a Conservative?
3 comments:
LOL! (at te final paragraph, well he IS a Conservative. He'd fit nicely in the liberal lefty side of the Conservative Party.
Re the rest, indeed but I read a very good reason to NOT have PR etc even though as you say most (even me!) think a new system is necessary. I'll try and find it but it was on another blog somewhere but the gist of it was that the LIST system of Parties that comes with PR keeps the Party in control...the worst culprits and the sleaziest gits could be the favourites of teh Party big-wigs and so no matter what they remain at or near the top of the list and YOU CAN'T get rid of them by voting. Thye would NEVER lose their seta unless the party was obliterated (I like that word don't I!)
There would also be no chance of "a portillo moment" or for an Independent to stand for some important local issue. And finally the most obvious, all 3 major parties would probably further split into their component parts and we'd be left with dozens of mini crap coalitions for even the most basic vote.
even Jack Straw agrees:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100423/tuk-uk-britain-election-straw-fa6b408.html
Now I feel bad!
I agree with your reservations about PR and the possible lack of upsets. Two articles I've read this week, not sure if they are online at all, contrasting Italy and Switzerland's systems. Switzerland seem to love the idea of referendum and have at least 4 each year, I remember Mrs Thatcher saying once that you don't elect a Government to them have referendum every six months, she may have been right.
Jack Straw is really very old Labour, no wonder you feel bad!
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