« Indy editorial: public pressure can help change our politics | Main | A Timely Debate on Electoral Reform »
June 10, 2009
Show us the electoral reform beef, Gordon
As we wait for the Prime Minister's statement on democratic reform later today, we wonder just how bold Brown will be. Will the announcements on electoral reform be as impressive as they may first appear?
1) A promise of a referendum on the voting system is nothing new. Labour has been committed to such a referendum since its 1997 election manifesto. It has repeated that commitment in subsequent manifestos and in Parliament. At least the 1997 manifesto promised a referendum on the introduction of a proportional voting system. Brown looks like he may not even be going that far. The Alternative Vote may be a step forward, but it is not proportional. So where is the boldness here?
2) A promise of a debate on voting systems is nothing new either. Back in January 2008 the Government published its long-awaited review of voting systems. At the time it said: "the review was intended to inform the ongoing debate about the voting system" and that debate was "now open". Apart from a few Ministry of Justice public meetings on the Governance of Britain, nothing much has happened since then. So in what way will this be different?
3) The National Democratic Renewal Council isn't much more open or involving of the public than the Government's Review of Voting Systems was. That involved a few civil servants in Whitehall, who were "deskbound". How, this time, will the debate be more open and engage the wider public?
4) Any system recommended just by the National Democratic Renewal Council is going to seem like it is being imposed from above, a top-down solution, and potentially a political fix. On the other hand, the Alternative Vote Plus (AV+) was a system recommended by the Jenkins Commission after long and careful deliberations involving plenty of opportunities for public involvement and debate.
5) There is a real urgency to implementing reforms, to restore public trust in MPs and in politics as a whole. The European election results combined with public reaction to the expenses scandal has shown that voters are impatient for real change. So why does the Prime Minister seem to be dithering about timescales? As one constitutional expert has already attested, there is still just enough time left for having a proper debate and then holding a referendum before the next election. So why the wait? Why not at least start exploring that pre-election referendum option?
As one person has already commented: "far from referendum 2010, Brown seem to be offering AV don't know when". We hope that isn't actually the case, and that Brown will show some electoral reform beef later today.
Posted by malcolmclark on June 10, 2009
Comments
I think Brown should say this.
Posted by: Cabalamat at June 10, 2009 07:16 AM
Having just added my name to the MMVC petition, I see just one main fault with it. The petition is asking for a binding referendum to take place on the same day as the next General Election, this of course then provides politicians and policymakers with a further 5 years to prevaricate before any possible implementation of a reformed voting system.
Electoral reform needs to take place BEFORE any further parliamentary elections so that the entire country can look forward to voting in a really meaningful way, immediate electoral reform will also serve to ensure that the political elite and their cronies are left in no doubt that it is the nation that decides on who governs us.
All societies need to be governed but not via a system that solely serves "the establishment" and those in positions of power. The latest expenses furore is the preverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" and therefore should be the catalyst for immediate action and not for further delays until the next General Election and beyond.
The so called British pragmatism more often than not leads to inaction and this is simply no longer acceptable.
I wish I had the confidence to assume that electoral changes would occur before the next General Election, however unless I am much mistaken I fear that very little will come about in the foreseeable future.
Apparently we in the UK have the benefit of free speech, which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot if our elected representatives are not forced to listen, immediate electoral reform could open the ears of politicians once and for all. hopefully ridding us of the self serving party politics we currently suffer from.
"Strike whilst the iron is hot", deal with this now.
Posted by: Tim Vince at June 10, 2009 12:33 PM
The referendum (if we get one) should ask whether we want to set up a citizens' assembly to decide which voting system would be best for H of C elections (including the current system).
If on the other hand the question is "Do you want to change to the AV system of voting for H of C elections", the people will vote against it, mainly because Brown is seen to be behind it and it will be assumed he is pushing it for cynical reasons of party advantage.
This has all been left till too late. At this late stage, any push towards electoral reform needs to be handled very carefully for fear of alienating voters against the idea of reform.
Posted by: Gareth Robson at June 10, 2009 03:05 PM
We're democrats and believe in free speech, but we're also committed to civil and rational debate. We reserve the right to delete material posted to our site, but we hope and expect to exercise this right rarely if at all.
