UK Politics
General Discussion for politics in the UK.
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We desperately need electoral reform.
In a more diverse political landscape like the ones enabled by proportional representation, it's very hard for a single party to be able to reach a majority without coalition partners.
If the Tories had to rely on coalition partners, there's no way they'd have been able to hold a coalition together this long - they can hardly hold their own party together at this point.
I desperately want to see voting reform. I am even considering to join the Labour party to help push for it in there. I hate the two party system. I have become more and more in favour of PR voting while watching the gerrymandering stunts the conservatives are doing in the US. I think we have gotten off lightly. Take some time to watch some:
https://www.youtube.com/@MeidasTouch/videos
and
https://www.youtube.com/@briantylercohen/videos
Both are very much democratic bias. The egregious stunts they have mentioned regarding republican political blocking is obscene. The republicans fund an international organisation called National Conservatism. We could so easily have gone the way the US is now.
As an American, I state beyond a reasonable doubt that any step should be taken to break up two party systems. They're never a good idea.
I totally agree.
I hate the two party system in the UK, which is similar to the US. Both are abused in the same fashion. Because it is a FPTP system in the UK, campaigns are focused in the few swing seat areas. This makes taking total control is a very cheap affair comparatively. My area is predominantly Labour biased and has been since the boundary changes in the 1970's. No matter who I vote for I will always have a Labour MP. My current MP is nothing but a grifter. She is only there to vote yes when told to do so.
In the next election I am compelled to vote tactically for our grifter MP, because there is the remote chance that the Tories could snatch the seat. Ideally I would vote LD. The vote share in 2019 was Labour 16k, Tories 12k with the LD on a mere 2k. 2019 was an outlier because of Corbyn and is unlikely to be repeated, but that is closer than I want it to be in any election. LD will not even try to campaign in my area, because there is literally no point. I am stuck to pinching my nose and voting to stop these scumbags getting back in again.
So, I am very much in favour of switching to a PR voting system. This would mean that campaigns have to convince as many as possible. FPTP is a very regressive system in giving the voter base what they want. Voter's opinions for those not in the swing seats are generally ignored. FPTP system also makes a lot vote for what they don't want over what they really want.
Ideally at the GE Labour falls short of a majority and has to form a coalition with the Lib Dems.
Then maybe we will see proportional representation.
Lib Dems tried that last time with the AV referendum, IIRC Lab and Con destroyed it
Agreed. FPTP is the reason for all of this. With a proportionate voting system, a Tory majority on 40% of the vote would not have been possible this wretched government would have fallen long ago and there would never have been a revolving door of Prime Ministers, let alone Brexit. FPTP is creating extreme polarization which is creating channels for weakened institutions and brazen corruption.