A splendid and well-argued post. Keep on saying it and pushing for an NCER. I'm 80, and it was clear to me from when I first voted in 1966 that a change to the voting system was necessary to achieve fair representation. I don't want to die before it happens.
Thank you, Sheila! You know 80 is the new 60, right? I expect to see you at the big party we’ll be organising to say goodbye and good riddance to FPTP! 🥳
1. The world in general is a very different place to what it was nearly thirty years ago. It would be odd (to say the least) to implement such a fundamental change on the basis of considerations made nearly thirty years ago without giving the issue some fresh scrutiny.
2. More specifically, the political landscape and people’s voting patterns are very different now. If we’re asking people to endorse a change to something as fundamental as this, they will need to see that the recommendations fit the political world as it is today (and how it is likely to be at least some way into the future).
Of course the systems themselves will be largely the same but the way they are perceived - people’s views on how they impact the democratic process - may be viewed differently today.
A splendid and well-argued post. Keep on saying it and pushing for an NCER. I'm 80, and it was clear to me from when I first voted in 1966 that a change to the voting system was necessary to achieve fair representation. I don't want to die before it happens.
Thank you, Sheila! You know 80 is the new 60, right? I expect to see you at the big party we’ll be organising to say goodbye and good riddance to FPTP! 🥳
This is so true and so important.
We've already had the Jenkins Commission in 1997, which recommended AV+. Why do we need another one?
Lots of reasons. Here’re two:
1. The world in general is a very different place to what it was nearly thirty years ago. It would be odd (to say the least) to implement such a fundamental change on the basis of considerations made nearly thirty years ago without giving the issue some fresh scrutiny.
2. More specifically, the political landscape and people’s voting patterns are very different now. If we’re asking people to endorse a change to something as fundamental as this, they will need to see that the recommendations fit the political world as it is today (and how it is likely to be at least some way into the future).
Of course the systems themselves will be largely the same but the way they are perceived - people’s views on how they impact the democratic process - may be viewed differently today.