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May 30, 2009
Bust those Mail myths
Readers of the Daily Mail need to know there are some voices for electoral reform out there. So please reply to their editorial and write in in support of a referendum on reform. Email letters@dailymail.co.uk
There are many ways of demolishing the Mail's attack on PR.
For rebuttal arguments against 'weak Government'; 'Coalitions'; and 'Italy' see the myth-busting guide and also the best of our blog on the subject.
For rebutting comments about 'PR lets in extremists' see our eurovotescount website
But the Mail piece deserves its own special research for this gem:
"Expense cheats Julie Kirkbride and Margaret Moran were forced out by the revulsion of their constituents. Under PR, where candidates are placed on regional lists, there would be no such direct constituency accountability."
It turns out that voters in Bromsgrove (Julie Kirkbride's constituency) have not defeated a sitting MP there since 1970. It has been almost 40 years since Bromsgrove residents last had an MP that wasn't Conservative. So it is highly unlikely that voters would have been able to unseat their MP this time.
Julie isn't alone. Earlier research by Make Votes Count shows the link between those MPs forced to step down and a long tenure in a safe seat. Not for all, but for most of these MPs there has been a culture of unaccountability. It is only in these exceptional times when they are forced to go ... by selective public and media pressure, not democratically at the ballot box. It is highly unlikely that many of these MPs would have lost their seats at the next general election, such was the high level of suppport for their party in their constituency. Is that the model of "direct constituency accountability" that the Daily Mail is so keen to maintain?
Posted by malcolmclark on May 30, 2009
