If we had Proportional Representation

[andrewducker]

I'd have expected the Labour party to splinter around the time of the Iraq war.

I'd expect the Tory party to splinter the moment someone said "Europe".

We have broad parties full of people that don't like the views of many of the people they're associated with.  Once it becomes possible to elect smaller parties I expect many of them to head for the hills.

Working out how many votes "The Conservatives" or "Labour" will get at in a proportional system is not likely to get you a very useful result.

(Been meaning to write this for a few days, and finally spurred to it when someone else posted about it, sadly flocked.)

Edit: fjm has unlocked their post. Worth reading - she's a better writer than me.

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

What can possibly go wrong ...?

A strict proportional/party list system combined with tightly whipped parties and a threshold system like Germany -- where there's a cut-off below which parties don't get any seats -- means that dissident MPs would find life very harsh indeed. Reasons for expecting a cut-off: a 1% requirement would effectively exclude the BNP. It'd also play to the interests of the existing parties by giving them a lever for enforcing the whip (i.e. dissident MPs lose the whip, end out in the cold, and because they can't muster 1% of the national vote, lose their seats -- an effective threat).

You also run the risk of the Israeli nightmare, where the balance of power between major blocs is held by the equivalent of UKIP or the Christian Party.

PR isn't an automatic paliative. The devil is in the details.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Yep.

I'll unlock.