Tuesday, January 04, 2005
MICHAEL HOWARD QUESTION
The Lesley Riddoch Programme
Today you asked us to email questions to put to Michael Howard tomorrow (5th Jan) so here goes:
Because Westminster still has the distorting First Past the Post system unlike the proportional system here in Scotland it has been calculated* that if at the next election the Tories only get 32% (as current polls predict) & New Labour falls to a massive 31% Blair will still get an overall Parliamentary majority. This means that Labour are likely to get complete power while more than 2/3rds of voters oppose them.
I know the Tories support this system but surely you must accept that for Blair to win a majority when over 2/3rds of voters vote against him makes this system something less than democratic.
*from http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/index.html
National Prediction: LAB majority 2
Party Pred Votes Pred Seats
CON 32.00% 231
LAB 31.00% 324
LIB 21.00% 60
The Tory & Lib Dem % are taken from those predicted on the site based on current polls. Labour has been reduced to fit.
Cheers
Neil Craig
UPDATE amazingly enough they didn't ask this question or anything like it. Howard came as OK but not going to set the heather on fire. Most of it boiled down to saying the Tories woun't do much different, except on the EU, but will do it more efficiently, which is probably true because Labour do not set a high standard for competence. I liked his reaction when the BBC interviewer said our economy is doing well - he pointed out that it is only doing well by EU standards, by world standards or even more, English speaking world standard we are underperforming. Of course the suggestion that either our economy or our electoral system are below par is not the sort of thing that the (small case) conservatives of the Beeb report.
Today you asked us to email questions to put to Michael Howard tomorrow (5th Jan) so here goes:
Because Westminster still has the distorting First Past the Post system unlike the proportional system here in Scotland it has been calculated* that if at the next election the Tories only get 32% (as current polls predict) & New Labour falls to a massive 31% Blair will still get an overall Parliamentary majority. This means that Labour are likely to get complete power while more than 2/3rds of voters oppose them.
I know the Tories support this system but surely you must accept that for Blair to win a majority when over 2/3rds of voters vote against him makes this system something less than democratic.
*from http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/index.html
National Prediction: LAB majority 2
Party Pred Votes Pred Seats
CON 32.00% 231
LAB 31.00% 324
LIB 21.00% 60
The Tory & Lib Dem % are taken from those predicted on the site based on current polls. Labour has been reduced to fit.
Cheers
Neil Craig
UPDATE amazingly enough they didn't ask this question or anything like it. Howard came as OK but not going to set the heather on fire. Most of it boiled down to saying the Tories woun't do much different, except on the EU, but will do it more efficiently, which is probably true because Labour do not set a high standard for competence. I liked his reaction when the BBC interviewer said our economy is doing well - he pointed out that it is only doing well by EU standards, by world standards or even more, English speaking world standard we are underperforming. Of course the suggestion that either our economy or our electoral system are below par is not the sort of thing that the (small case) conservatives of the Beeb report.
