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Now the truth is out and the reason for the appalling bad Editorials in the Independent this past week because today they have come out to encourage people to vote negatively and tactically to “Keep Cameron Out”. What a nasty bunch of shits the Independent on Sunday, Editorial Staff clearly are. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-vote-for-change-real-change-1960288.html

Such a Nerve !!!

The Editorials this past week have been getting worse and worse but this is disgusting. Support a Party any Party but to tell people to vote tactically against one particular Party is both outrageous and totally negative with no redeeming features what so ever.

If you had written a whole series of articles across a period of time to explain how each type of PR system worked. Likely illustrated with examples of how each would have impacted past British elections and what effect turnout has on outcomes. In short, if you had campaigned for this as a positive benefit, showing how it might relate to other constitutional matters and bought it to life as an issue, I would respect your stance whether I agreed with you or not but, you haven’t even tried to make a case.

All you are demonstrating is that the Editorial staff of the Independent are little better than the Metropolitan Chattering Classes, talking crap whilst sipping their Decaf Lattes. You are a negative disgrace who are totally unaware of the highly varied nature of your rather intelligent readership who do not need to be told by the likes of you what to think, this is not the Sun or the ‘House Mag’ of some potty pressure group concerned with wearing Latex suits.

However, I look forward to next Sunday and hope Cameron walks it with a clear majority by a ‘Country Mile’ in the meantime. What shall you lead on then ? The late Spring and its impact on endangered British Wildlife ?

On the Principle of PR

In theory, it would be possible to “do something about PR” but have you ever asked: “If PR is the answer, what is the question ?” And no, I’m not being frivolous.

With an ever falling percentage turnout for each election, what does PR solve in England where General Elections are decided ? Is this just a device for getting the LibDems (but it could be any other party), into contention ?

There is no barrier to any third party in this Country becoming popular as the first TV debate demonstrated for Clegg but is it the electoral system that is at fault or the electors themselves who seem happier with a “winner takes all” system as in FPTP ?

The key point that I repeat frequently is that other things have to happen first before PR and reforming the Lords happen and the reason is that both those may provide ‘elements’ in the final revised solution, neither are ‘prime movers’.

Take for example the really “Big One”, the Separation of Powers” which is the key to ending 5 year elected Dictatorships. I won’t bore you with all the arguments but instead suggest a ‘solution’(this one would not be my personal choice) which might be along US lines:

The Executive – the Government sits outside of the Commons and the ‘Cabinet’ is made up of unelected Officials who have to negotiate deals with the Legislature (Commons) to raise taxes, pursue particular policies.

At the moment the Lords is little more than the “Village Elders” but as part of this arrangement and whether called the Lords or the Senate, it acquires powers from the Commons and all members are elected. In order to ensure feisty and rebellious Chambers not beholden to Prime Ministerial patronage, the PM becomes like the US President, directly elected and PR is used in the election of both Houses.

PR is essential in Northern Ireland for obvious reasons, it is not in the mainland UK because apart from the LibDems, it is not a solution to a particular problem. When I was growing up in the 1950s, politics were tribal and turnouts around 80 percent. What will we see this week, will it make 40 percent of the potential electorate ?

Putting a “None of the Above” box on all ballot papers might well be more effective than PR because PR based upon a 38 percent turnout is just as ‘unfair’ as First Past the Post. It is for these reasons that I would advise that we should “Hasten Slowly” on peripheral matters such as PR.

John Rentoul

As ever, this excellent journalist put together an interesting article for the Sunday prior to the actual poll, worth a read.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-rentoul/john-rentoul-clegg-has-blown-it-after-all-that-1960289.html

This must have been one of the most difficult General Elections for any thinking journalist to cover ‘live’ but I suspect that retrospectively, it will provide a fascinating study of the British Electorate in action. As I have from the start, my money is on a Cameron Government with a working majority on yet another low poll.

The PR ‘thing’ I have little time for, along with reforming the Lords, it may have a part to play in future and more important reforms of the Commons and Prime Ministerial patronage but it isn’t a pressing issue. All election systems throw up ‘unfair anomalies’ and I don’t see that PR on a low turnout for the poll is any “Fairer” than FPTP, putting a “None of the Above” option on ballot papers could achieve more. Besides which, it all smacks of special pleading, there is nothing to stop the LibDems being in contention for Government in their own right, they just have to sell it to the public, same as the others.

As to whether Clegg made a blunder, I am not sure about that. The public just didn’t want to listen to any politician and yet through the first TV Debate and an excellent performance, he seized his opportunity and even if Labour rally at the last minute and the LibDems end up in third place, he will have done the very best he could given the circumstances.

From the experience, the LibDems need to learn the lessons of these past few weeks and carry out sweeping reforms of their own party structures, even if the ‘wind had carried them further’, they are not ready and in a shape to form a Government, they need to groom and get out in the public eye, sufficient MPs and potential MPs to look like a Team that could fill a front bench rather than the “Three Tenors”, Clegg, Cable and Hune.

They also need to sharpen up on their policies which when looked at closely, a lot of the public were put off by. Also in a Country with an inbuilt distrust of all things EU, their stance over the EU strictly limits their electoral appeal under any electoral system and in this context, fair or not, Clegg’s personal life and MEP background may well hold the LibDems back, he may have to be replaced in due course but for now, he has done a very good job for his party.

And for those who would howl “Little Englander” and such phrases, stop and think about it for a moment, it is a fact that the Country has an in-built bias against the EU and therefore if he got into ‘contention’ for leading a LibDem Government, Clegg couldn’t escape the “sell out” slur, a Leader such as Charles Kennedy would never get ‘accused’ of that. Yes it is a hard life, its called politics and the same rules apply even if you do have a beard and wear sandals.