Why I'm in favour of Proportional Representation

[andrewducker]

According to the BBC, the current polls show Lib Dems on 33%, Conservatives on 32%, Labour on 26%.
Which would give a seat allocation of Conservatives: 246, Labour 241, Lib Dems: 134.
Or, in a more easily digestible table format:

Party	Percentage	Seats
Lib Dems	33%	134
Conservatives	32%	246
Labour	26%	241

It should be pretty fucking obvious that this is an electoral system that is fucked in the head.

Comments

Re: for the slow american in the room

[matgb]

Democrats are a broad church party. Dean openly, and OBama covertly, support the Lib Dems (Obama's main campaign speechwrite was a Lib Dem activist from north London). But The Clinton/New Democrat faction is equivalent to New Labour, and the Old Labour have links with old unionised Democrats.

The confusing bit is the sane members of the Tories also support the Democrats. But the Dems are the right wing of the Lib Dems and Labour, and the left wing of the Tories...

US Greens aren't always as batshit crazy as our Greens though.

Re: for the slow american in the room

[andrewducker]

Hey! I know some very sane Greens!

Re: for the slow american in the room

[matgb]

Did you read the link I posted on Twitter about their manifesto?

I know some sane Greens, but their policy platform is a) still full of Woo and b) going to destroy chunks of the economy, 50% increase in alcohol duty would finally kill off a lot more struggling pubs, for example.

Target of 45% of GDP taken in tax, partially to stop growth of all kinds, regardless of whether it's good or damaging growth? Call it sane if you like, but I don't.

Re: for the slow american in the room

[skington.livejournal.com]

I think the salient point here is that America across the board is more right-wing than the UK, or indeed any European country. So yes, the Democrats, being the more left-wing party, get support from the unions, the poor and the deprived. That still puts them to the right of the Tories on most issues.

Re: for the slow american in the room

[matgb]

Right of the Tories on most issues.

The Democrats under Dean, Pelosi and Obama are right of the Tories? SRSLY?

Have you looked at the Tory policy platform?

Re: for the slow american in the room

[skington.livejournal.com]

On health care, neither Pelosi nor Obama even seriously considered a single-payer system. (Dean did, to his credit, but then he's positioned himself to the left of the party as a general rule in the last few years.) David Cameron has promised that no matter what other drastic cuts he makes to other parts of the budget, he'll match and protect Labour's planned spending increases on the NHS.

Or, for that matter, the Tories want to let toffs hunt foxes again, but they're not proposing that just anyone be allowed guns.

Re: for the slow american in the room

[matgb]

Didn't consider it not necessarily because they didn't actually want it; they only just got the watered down basterdisation they ended up with passed. And several are saying it's distincly the first step, etc.

They've dragged US health care to the "left" of where it was, significantly. Cameron plans to drag it to the "right" significantly in a number of ways (some of which I approve of, mostly I don't).

The NHS is such a touchstone issue he can't afford to be seen to be attacknig it (but look up Dan Hannan's comments on it, or Douglas CArswells).

Politicians react to their home electorate, Tories largely want to do things that they know they can't get away with, although given the collapse of their campaign they seem to be lurching right anyway.