Thank you for for your comment, Caroline. What a shame it is the time the system WORKED that stands out in your memory and not a time when it didn't. (I am in the same boat.)
I know how he feels too. At last year's General Election I voted for the MP I wanted to represent me and he won with over 50% of the votes! This is a FIRST for me. I am 81 and it has been clear to me from the start that FPTP produces a distorted result and a gross mismatch between votes in the country and seats in parliament. I haven't got another 60 years to wait for reason and fairness to prevail. I hope my grandchildren will be luckier.
Thank you for those comments, Sheila. I'm glad the system worked for you last time around, just sad it is not the norm. There IS a growing demand in the country to have this change implemented - I won't quote all the stats at you! - and I remain hopeful that the younger members of your family will soon have the democratic tools needed to build the fairer future was all want to see.
I stand with Bill. I’m not quite as old but I’ve had the same feeling since I started voting in the early 70’s. I have a son 40 years younger than I, he sees it as not voting for who you want, but more, not voting for who you don’t want. Some form of PR would make a difference, as long it wasn’t one of the options offered last time the government actually considered it.
Thanks Mike. Your son is absolutely right. The dynamics of First Past the Post force people to focus on who they LEAST want in power, not who they most want. That's terribly corrosive. On your final point, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electoral Reform (of which I am Secretary) has called for the establishment of a National Commission on Electoral Reform to review ALL relevant systems (some used in the devolved administrations, some by other countries) and work out which best meets the needs of modern Britain. I think that is a prudent path forward and avoids any suggestion that reform will simply involve reheating a discredited old idea.
I know how he feels. Though I do remember a council election once where my vote actually counted.
Thank you for for your comment, Caroline. What a shame it is the time the system WORKED that stands out in your memory and not a time when it didn't. (I am in the same boat.)
I know how he feels too. At last year's General Election I voted for the MP I wanted to represent me and he won with over 50% of the votes! This is a FIRST for me. I am 81 and it has been clear to me from the start that FPTP produces a distorted result and a gross mismatch between votes in the country and seats in parliament. I haven't got another 60 years to wait for reason and fairness to prevail. I hope my grandchildren will be luckier.
Thank you for those comments, Sheila. I'm glad the system worked for you last time around, just sad it is not the norm. There IS a growing demand in the country to have this change implemented - I won't quote all the stats at you! - and I remain hopeful that the younger members of your family will soon have the democratic tools needed to build the fairer future was all want to see.
Thank you Mark- really uplifting piece. Like Bill, I’ve never been represented by anyone I voted for either
Thanks Heather!
Great piece.
Thank you, Juliet. Very kind. 🙏
I stand with Bill. I’m not quite as old but I’ve had the same feeling since I started voting in the early 70’s. I have a son 40 years younger than I, he sees it as not voting for who you want, but more, not voting for who you don’t want. Some form of PR would make a difference, as long it wasn’t one of the options offered last time the government actually considered it.
Thanks Mike. Your son is absolutely right. The dynamics of First Past the Post force people to focus on who they LEAST want in power, not who they most want. That's terribly corrosive. On your final point, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electoral Reform (of which I am Secretary) has called for the establishment of a National Commission on Electoral Reform to review ALL relevant systems (some used in the devolved administrations, some by other countries) and work out which best meets the needs of modern Britain. I think that is a prudent path forward and avoids any suggestion that reform will simply involve reheating a discredited old idea.
Thanks for your reply Mark, I hope your hard work will eventually reward us all with a fairer representative voting system.