Re: Taking the blame
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 2:29 pm
No, it's always been flawed. I'd be well pissed off if I voted one way, yet my whole state was declared for the opposition. We have some experience of it. The majority of Scots and Welsh people voted against the Tories throughout the 1980s, but the south-east of England kept us in a minority. Now they complain that Scotland's batch of Labour MPs help keep the government in a position to drive through legislation aimed at England and Wales.
Both of those situations are wrong. The dangers of proportional representation are that you give a voice to extreme right and left-wing groups; but its use in voting for the Scottish Parliament ensured that the Tories got more seats than they would in the first past the post system, and gave the Greens and some independent groups an elected voice. A two-party system, with no room for other voices and opinions, is not healthy.
Both of those situations are wrong. The dangers of proportional representation are that you give a voice to extreme right and left-wing groups; but its use in voting for the Scottish Parliament ensured that the Tories got more seats than they would in the first past the post system, and gave the Greens and some independent groups an elected voice. A two-party system, with no room for other voices and opinions, is not healthy.