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Discussing Electoral Reform From Labour Perspective

(31 Posts)
GrannyGravy13 Mon 29-Jan-24 13:59:16

I think that if the Lib Dem’s were winning under the present system they would not be so vociferous about changing it…

varian Mon 29-Jan-24 13:52:43

In a democracy the party or parties which form a government can only do so with the support of more than 50% of those who voted in the general election.

Democracy is then rule by the majority.

First Past The Post is a corrupt electoral system which allows a party to gain a majority (often a huge majority) of MPs on the basis of a minority vote.

The government can do whatever it likes for up to five years as the opposition parties can only oppose, but cannot outvote them.

This was described as "elective dictatorship" in the 1970s by the distinguished Conservative politician Lord Hailsham.

It is quite shameful that the UK is the only Europaen country, apart from Belarus, to use FPTP.

Many countries all over the world have become true democracies by changing their voting systems from FPTP to PR. Not one country has reverted to FPTP.

Casdon Mon 29-Jan-24 11:17:30

We’ve been through this so many times. The UK IS a democracy varian, it’s just not your preferred democratic model.

varian Mon 29-Jan-24 10:53:32

Thanks DAR

An interesting discussion which goes some way to explaining why the Labour leadership seems to want to avoid the question of electoral reform, in spite of the overwhelming wishes of both LP membership and unions.

Starmer et al, in spite of (or perhaps because of) their strong lead in the polls, appear to have little interest in steering the UK into becoming a democracy,

DaisyAnneReturns Mon 29-Jan-24 08:37:31

Bunping for anyone who may be interested.

DaisyAnneReturns Sun 28-Jan-24 17:31:00

I found this a really interesting discussion. One commentator wrote Can I just say this was absolutely stellar content, having knowledgeable people on and engaging them on the policy fields they're involved in should absolutely become a recurring feature on the channel.

A Different Bias' Phil Moorhouse says about this discussion:
For many politically aware progressives in the UK, it is becoming apparent that proportional representation would be the key to unlock an awful lot of wider reforms that many of us would like to see. The Conservatives would not implement electoral reform when they traditionally benefit so much from the current system, so that leaves Labour. So how is the campaign within Labour working, and what are the arguments which need to be made after the election to make it a firm policy?

I learned and reinforced knowledge and felt a few of Kier Starmers plans were beginning to fit together. If you are interested but prefer words there is a button underneath the video that says "show transcript".

As someone who us not a Labour Party member or supporter I'm also interested to compare other parties plans with what is discussed here if you have that information.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=72lDtqY-XZA