Is Electoral Reform A Good Thing?

In the wake of the general election, in which no party managed to gain an overall majority, a clamber has emerged for electoral reform. I for one am confused as to why this campaign has gathered such momentum.


Based on my own observations, of the people I follow on twitter who have voted Lib Dem, they seem to be the most vocal for electoral reform. This is understandable as it has been a Lib Dem policy for many years. Many people also appear to be upset by the fact that we have a hung parliament therefore need electoral reform to address this. Well maybe it's me that's stupid, but it appears to me that hung parliaments are much more likely under most, if not all forms of PR.


All forms of electoral systems have problems, there is no such thing as a perfect system, a point which seems to have been lost in all the hysteria. Most forms of PR would allow extreme minority parties to gain some power, I for one do not want the BNP having a seat in my Parliament.



I have studied the electoral reform society website which I suggest you all do also. They favour the system called STV (single transferable vote), which does seem on the face of it a decent system. It expands the size of a constituency to say 5 MP's and we vote by giving our preference for 3 parties, for example, first, second and third. The system does have many benefits, though I would find it difficult to give a second and third preference to any party. I am and always have been and will probably always be a one party person. STV would also allow for the possibility of allowing in extreme minority parties, again something I do not want.


First past the post is taking a bit of a battering at the moment, so I would just like to make some points in favour of it. Firstly, it makes our local MP fully accountable to the electorate of his/her constituency. If we decide to vote out that person, we can. I acknowledge that in very safe seats this is not always easy, but it is more likely than under the STV system. First past the post provides a greater chance of having a party with an overall majority, I don't see this happening under any of the PR systems, we would have hung parliaments almost all of the time I would suggest.


I should also make the point that I do not have a terrible problem with hung parliaments. People seem to be outraged by the idea that we don't have a party with an overall majority, I for one have no real problem with it. Much of the rest of the world have coalition governments.


I am neither for nor against electoral reform, I am however skeptical of the clamber to have electoral reform. It strikes me as knee jerk. Many of the people I follow on twitter who are proposing electoral reform are rational, intelligent and critical thinkers on all points, I hope that people apply the same process to that of electoral reform.

It seems a done deal that we will at least have a referendum on electoral reform and this is something I welcome. All debates on such important items are a great thing. I am looking forward to doing even more research on the various forms of electoral reform.