Why our electoral system is rubbish

[TW]Fox · 2 May 2010 at 11:19

So what happens if more people in this country vote Conservative than any other party? For the sake of comparison, I assumed a two horse race.

What would happen if more people voted Tory than any other party is...

a Labour majority.

This is ridiculous.

Fuzz · 2 May 2010 at 11:20

Vote for change then.

and yes I'm with you, it is ****ing ridiculous
Lets have the hung parliament and get on with it

[TW]Fox · 2 May 2010 at 11:24

Scubascorpion said:
Vote for change then.

Makes no odds, a vote in my area is worth 0.251 votes

Safe labour seat.

r3loaded · 2 May 2010 at 11:25

Help the Lib Dems get a sizeable representation in Parliament then, and they'll push for the major electoral reform that's needed

starfighter · 2 May 2010 at 11:26

The current system is like it is for a reason. It is easy to ridicule it when it occasionally throws out results like this but nothing is perfect. So unless you care to elaborate on an alternative...

Sukh · 2 May 2010 at 11:26

I was thinking this earlier, what would you prefer, proportional representation?

Dolph · 2 May 2010 at 11:26

It could be worse, Labour could reform the system by introducing AV which, despite their attempts to paint it as a fairer reform, actually biases the system even more in favour of Labour...

Fuzz · 2 May 2010 at 11:28

Multiple choice candidates.

First choice
Second choice
Third choice

Etc etc..

PV (Preferential Vote)
The most fair way

Dolph · 2 May 2010 at 11:33

I much prefer the mixed member system.

Mixed member system

Proportionality without killing the chances of independents or condemning candidates to being considered only as part of their party. Also allows you to clearly split your vote between a candidate and a party should you choose.

Efour · 2 May 2010 at 11:36

well said, if you don't know how you want to vote and live in a safe seat try LD for this very reason. MMS is a step forward.

scorza · 2 May 2010 at 11:38

[TW]Fox;16476252 said:
Makes no odds, a vote in my area is worth 0.251 votes Safe labour seat.

If only there was a way to make it less safe for Labour. Oh wait, there is - vote for someone else.

semi-pro waster · 2 May 2010 at 11:40

Dolph said:
I much prefer the mixed member system.

It certainly appears to be a fairer system overall and allows you to vote for the person you think will be best for your constituency irrespective of their political allegience. Seems to work ok in Scotland too.

Dark_Angel · 2 May 2010 at 11:43

[TW]Fox;16476252 said:
Makes no odds, a vote in my area is worth 0.251 votes Safe labour seat.

About the same here. :/

bloodiedathame · 2 May 2010 at 11:46

I think we should be voting for policies not parties.

Lil old me · 2 May 2010 at 11:51

a.hay said:
I think we should be voting for policies not parties.

In principle yes. But what if two or more MPs have the same policy, don't they become a party by definition?

Dolph · 2 May 2010 at 11:52

a.hay said:
I think we should be voting for policies not parties.

And how do you deal with the fact that many people are idiots and would vote for policies that cripple the civil liberties of others, ruin the economy (although that's happened already) or are just plain pointless...

Fuzz · 2 May 2010 at 11:54

[TW]Fox;16476252 said:
Makes no odds, a vote in my area is worth 0.251 votes Safe labour seat.

How can it make no odds..

It's only a safe if you all vote for them purely on the thought there is no other option.
3 other people make the change and you've got yourself a seat.

Wake up and put your x where you believe it should go :mad:

bloodiedathame · 2 May 2010 at 11:57

What I mean is this: We should not be shown the parties' manifestos until we are in the booth placing our vote. We read the manifestos, and vote according to what we agree with. However, we should vote without knowing which party the manifestos belong to. Thus voting is down to what you agree with rather than it being a 'tactical' vote for a party.

Just my opinion

Cosimo · 2 May 2010 at 11:57

[TW]Fox;16476252 said:
Makes no odds, a vote in my area is worth 0.251 votes Safe labour seat.

You can always move to a safe tory seat.

Dolph · 2 May 2010 at 11:59

Scubascorpion said:
How can it make no odds..

It's only a safe if you all vote for them purely on the thought there is no other option.
3 other people make the change and you've got yourself a seat.

Wake up and put your x where you believe it should go

It's a safe seat because the average labour voters around here would vote for pedobear if he was wearing a red rosette, even if his election leaflets and party election broadcasts involved graphic images of child abuse, simply because he was standing for Labour.

We had a 15% swing against labour last time... which reduced their vote share to just under 60% or so.