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UK electoral reform is not going to happen

It sounds as if Brown and Cameron are not keen on reforming the UK's highly dysfunctional electoral system. Cameron has  said so. Brown is pretending to be interested in reform, but clearly intends to do nothing. Egos are more important than reform.

The Westminster system has some strange effects

"Labour’s electoral majority has always been misleading when it comes to assessing Blair’s actual popularity. He won his stupendous 179-seat majority in 1997 on the basis of 13,517,911 votes – which is a lot, but not as many as the 14,093,007 votes John Major won in 1992, and Major’s Government quickly became the most unpopular in modern British history. Blair’s 2001 majority of 167 seats was won with 10,724,895 votes, which is fewer than Kinnock’s losing total in 1992 (11,560,484). Labour’s huge majority is attributable to low turnouts and to the fact that the British electorate has finally twigged the point about tactical voting..."

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We have a much better system in Scotland. It is designed to prevent any party gaining an overall majority. Things can only be accomplished with consensus.

The first past the post system used for Westminster elections is damaging the political process and the country. Once a party has a working majority the Prime Minister becomes an elected dictator and can do what he want, no matter how crackpot or discreditable.

The solution for Scots is clear. We need to get full independence and leave the English to sink further into the mire.

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