Saturday, May 7, 2005

Labour's UK General Election Victory - 67 Seat Majority with 35.2% of Poll I've got mixed feelings about Labour's general election win: Positive - the Conservative Party didn't win. That would have been a disaster with a return to policies that would have pandered to the basest desires of parts of the electorate - a divisive immigration policy, thoroughly anti European Union and the even more rapid marketisation of public services. Negative - even though the public was clearly against the Iraq War, many still voted for a party whose leader, even if he didn't actually lie in the lead up to the war, is guilty of a severe lack of judgement in his interpretation of the inconclusive intelligence provided to him. Labour won with an overall majority in the House of Commons of 67 seats even though they received only 35.2% of the votes. The Liberal Democrates won only 62 seats even though they won 22% of the overall votes. Surely it is now time for some form of Proportional Representation? I think that there is some value in the "First-Past-the-Post" system in that you are voting for your representive in parliament rather than for a party. So why not a hybrid system where you can vote for a representative and for a party? 11:40:18 PM    comment []  trackback []