Looking at the election map

[andrewducker]

The Conservatives really, really should be taking an interest in The West Lothian Question.  And the other parties should be staggeringly interested in PR.

Because England is resoundingly Tory when it comes to seats, but not when it comes to votes.

Comments

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Is Scotland really that much less conservative than Britain?

[usmu.livejournal.com]

It's amazing and ridiculous. As it currently stands (11.30 CET) a 5,7% swing in votes causes a 15% swing in seats. That is disproportionate to say the least.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

They are interested in the West Lothian question. Strangely they don't seem to be as interested in the same as it applies to Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs also voting on 'English' matters.

If the Conservatives were more pragmatic and less ideological about the Union (i.e. of Scotland / England) then they could declare Scotland independent, whilst perhaps also declaring oil revenue English, and ensure their permanent rule in England.

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

They would presumably have to create 5 or 6 regional asemblies, not just a single English parliament. I'm not sure there would be much support for yet another layer of government. There is no sense of "regional nationalism" to make such a move popular like there is in Scotland & Wales.

[blearyboy.livejournal.com]

If you remove Scotland from the equation, there are 591 seats in the Commons, meaning a party requires 296 for a majority.

Tories have 294 seats at the time of writing, only one of which is in Scotland. So in the UK-Scotland paliament, they only need another 3 seats to claim the majority (they should be good for at least another 10 seats).

Basically, the Hung Parliament is entirely down to the Scottish and the tremor of fear they feel when they recall the Thatcher years.

Go Scotland!

[simont]

England isn't as resoundingly Tory as it looks on that map, though, because the map exaggerates the blueness due to the Tories tending to win the constituencies with larger area.