Saturday, January 22, 2011
AV REFERENDUM VOTE - LABOUR STRAW IN THE WIND
Recently I sent my local MP, Ann Mckechin, Glasgow North, this email asking her to support the AV note in the referendum.
For my entire lifetime both the Labour & Conservative parties have insisted that there should be no reforming of our openly non-representative system on the grounds that propprtional representation is a foreign invention which destroy's "strong government" (& only incidentally that the Labour & Conservative parties benefit from the old system). We are not getting a vote on PR but simply on whether we should have a system that completely disenfranchises anybody who dares to vote for a smaller party.
This referendum will thus change little (which makes it no less important than the Holyrood election in which we have no choices because all the Holyrood parties are agreed on destroying destroying 58% opf our economy & other lunacies & thefts). However it is the sound of the glaciers of British politics moving.
The Yes to Fair Votes campaign is here.
UPDATE - here is the letter from Fair Votes challenging their opponents to a public debate (you can sign the petition too)
I would be interested to know what your position is on the forthcoming referendum on the AV voting system.She had replied
I believe that a non-proportional representation system is, by definition, not representative of the voter's intent & thus undemocratic. Its effect is similar to Mussolini's when he introduced a law that the largest party, however small its vote, should get60% of the seats.
I very much regret that the Conservatives have decided that we are not entitled to vote for a full democracy but only for the relatively minor reform of not wholly disenfrachinsing those who support minority opinions. I would very much like to see Labour amending the Bill to go for a referendum with that option & think this might well pass since the LDs & all smaller parties would agree to it.
Nonetheless if we are only going to be given the option of moving 25% of the way to democracy I do not think anybody who prefers democracy to that of the above mentioned regime can fail to support at least such partial movement.
I await your response.
I have noted your support for a yes vote in the forthcoming vote in the use of av voting system for Westminster elections.Ann is very much a party loyalist & has now been appointed Labour's Shadow Secretary for Scotland so this clearly represents the mainstream of Labour opinion.
I can confirm that I am in favour of the proposed change and will be voting in support.
For my entire lifetime both the Labour & Conservative parties have insisted that there should be no reforming of our openly non-representative system on the grounds that propprtional representation is a foreign invention which destroy's "strong government" (& only incidentally that the Labour & Conservative parties benefit from the old system). We are not getting a vote on PR but simply on whether we should have a system that completely disenfranchises anybody who dares to vote for a smaller party.
This referendum will thus change little (which makes it no less important than the Holyrood election in which we have no choices because all the Holyrood parties are agreed on destroying destroying 58% opf our economy & other lunacies & thefts). However it is the sound of the glaciers of British politics moving.
The Yes to Fair Votes campaign is here.
UPDATE - here is the letter from Fair Votes challenging their opponents to a public debate (you can sign the petition too)
Labels: British politics, Scottish politics, Social
