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June 24, 2008
PCS paves the way
I thought I'd blogged this before, but can't find where I did. So in recompense, here's the full text from the pro-reform resolution passed by the Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) at its annual meeting last month. Points 3 & 4 in the 'instructs' section are the key. All in all very good news. Something to build on with PCS. And hopefully a wake up call for other trade unions to start discussing the issue again and acknowleding that they may need to revisit their previous positions of hostility or apathy.
PCS Resolution A152 - passed:
Conference welcomes PCS’ political campaigning, including the continuing success of the Make Your Vote Count campaign, linked closely to our industrial agenda, and our involvement in anti-fascist work. Conference also recognises the value of the work done by our Parliamentary Groups in the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments and the Welsh Assembly in supporting our aims.
Conference notes a number of recent cases of questionable donations to political parties by wealthy individuals. Conference is concerned that this has been taken as an excuse by those hostile to trade unions to attack their Political Funds. Conference believes that trade union members have every right to collect and use funds to further their aims by political means.
The PCS Make Your Vote Count campaign has been necessary, as part of our national dispute, to counter the growing political consensus between the main parties on supporting public service job cuts and privatisation, and holding down workers. rights and public sector pay. The MYVC campaign enables members to put pressure on candidates and parties to justify these policies. The campaign does not involve affiliation to any party, nor does PCS advise members how to vote. Instead, it has involved letter-writing, Candidates' Question Times, lobbying, presenting questions related to our industrial issues and the publication of candidates' responses to the PCS membership.
Conference notes that in 2007, 64% of all candidates and 79% of Labour candidates replies supported the union’s campaign against the government’s programme of cutting 100,000 civil and public servants’ jobs.
Conference believes that politicians will be most responsive to our campaigning where all votes can affect the outcome of elections, not just those in marginal constituencies or those of particular types of voters as is the case under the First-Past-The- Post election system. Furthermore, fairer electoral systems open up a space for trade unionists and others to stand for the interests of their members and public service users.
Conference therefore believes that voting methods in council and Parliamentary elections should be more proportional, making all votes really count.
Conference therefore instructs the NEC to:
1. continue to mount Make Your Vote Count campaigns, together with other unions wherever possible
2. continue to engage with Unite Against Fascism, Love Music Hate Racism and other local campaigns against the far right
3. campaign for fairer, more proportional voting systems in council and Parliamentary elections which would increase the effectiveness of MYVC by: making politicians more accountable; making political parties reflect a broader range of voter concerns; giving greater choice at the ballot box; marginalising the far right; making votes really count at elections.
4. Investigate the various methods of proportional voting, together with bodies such as the Electoral Reform Society, and report to the 2009 ADC on which would best meet these aims.
Posted by malcolmclark on June 24, 2008
Comments
It is interesting to see a trade union actually campaigning for electoral reform (or at least that appears to be the case) especially given that the reneging on the 1997 Labour manifesto commitment to a referendum on the subject was largely brought about by trade union pressure and with trade union money.
Even so I see that once again, after all the reports and reviews, the PCS is calling for an "investigation" of the various methods of proportional voting. It must be plain as daylight now that the best system overall is STV.
It is probably now too late to introduce a proportional system of any kind before 2010 because of the need for boundary changes and a referendum. But one possible solution may be to introduce AV as an interim measure (as I have suggested many times). This is no more proportional than FPTP but what it may do is to represent the WEIGHT of left-of-centre opinion more fairly through later preference votes going to either Labour or the LibDems - votes which now are just wasted.
It would also cut out the worst evils of the marginal seat phenomenon met with in FPTP ( enabling Lord Ashcroft to buy up vital marginal seats for the Tories before "the election that never was"). It would eliminate tactical voting, and ensure that each MP went to Westminster with more than 50% of the votes in his/her constituency.
Being, as it is, STV in single-member constituencies it would be easily convertible to STV in multi-member constituencies. And since constituencies would remain the same as under FPTP it may be the case that a referendum could be dispensed with. But if action were taken now it is probable that there is still time to introduce the system even WITH a referendum.
One thing is certain: we are not going to get any progress towards reform if some action is not taken BEFFORE the next election. If the Tories get back in before a change is made we can say goodbye to reform of any kind for the foreseeable future. And it is lookng more and more certain that under FPTP Labour will once again find itself sitting on the opposition benches in 2010, facing another minority government ( with perhaps more electoral support than Labour’s present bizarre showing , but minority nonetheless) - once again a Tory government, wielding an enormous phoney unrepresentative overall majority; and thus, despite its minority status able to ram its pet policies down the throats of the majority as, most notoriously, during the disastrous Thatcher era. (The current Scottish minority government is a very interesting contrast).
Posted by: Joe Pa\tterson at June 24, 2008 04:35 PM
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