A Proportionate Response

When Tony Blair as PM, commissioned Lord 'Woy' Jenkins* to investigate options for Proportional Representation in 1999, the objective was to effectively "lock out" the Conservatives by a leftist alliance of Labour and Lib-Dems. That estimable goal is not remotely achievable at present, as any electoral system would, based on opinion polls, still make the Tories the largest party and David Cameron the PM.

It is astonishing PR has risen from the bottom of the political pile to the top in just three weeks. Or perhaps not. However, no-one seems to be speaking much to the traditional custodians of the issue, the Lib-Dems - the media are much more interested in the views of the two main parties which will determine whether radical electoral reform will ever happen.

Labour progressives like Health Sec, Alan 'the Rocker' Johnson have been making the case for some while but without threatening to make an impact. Other heavyweights like Blunkett and Hain have recently taken a more pragmatic and opportunist view rather than Johnson's principled stance. Hain made a cogent case last week for moving to the Alternative Vote system (used for electing London Mayors) which also has the advantage of being able to be enacted in a matter of months.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/28/electoralreform-constitution

Cameron made clear in his long essay for the Guardian's New Politics this week; he considers PR to be contrary to the ideal of "redistributing power and control from the powerful to the powerless". How's that Dave? Labour's majority of 66 in 2005 was derived from just 36% of the vote. Cameron continued most unconvincingly, "PR would actually move us in the opposite direction ... [it] takes power away from the man and woman in the street and hands it to the political elites. Instead of voters choosing their government on the basis of the manifestos put before them in an election, party managers would choose a government on the basis of secret backroom deals".

Political horse-trading in smokey rooms is more akin to hung Parliaments in a first-past-the-post set-up, when Governments (like Wilson's in '74) have half an eye on calling another election to get an outright majority. It is elementary to read Cameron's sub-plot, "I would hardly abandon an electoral system which is about to deliver me colossal power." He also praised the values of "strong government," which could also be translated as "a tyranny determined by a few dozen marginals."

Brown, during his eccentric performance on the Andrew Marr Show (grimace, smile, grimace) said, he had, "always been very interested in PR," despite all evidence to the contrary. The Constitution Renewal Bill, still before Parliament, will allow all MPs to display their reforming zeal before a thoroughly sickened public. The legislation promises to be so amended as to be unrecognisable from the original.

The last word on the case for far-reaching electoral reform was put by the Scotland First Minister, Alex Salmond. He told Radio 4, he was amazed by MPs and commentators arguing the case for and against publishing expenses on-line, fixed term Parliaments and PR: "up here in Scotland we've got all that already; if it's good enough for us, why not Westminster?" Things must be worse then we thought when the, thoroughly pompous, Salmond starts sounding sensible.

* On a lighter note. Brussels bureaucrats in the late 70s, were often puzzled why the British diplomats were forever referring to King John XV. Eventually they realised 'Roi Jean Quinze' was in fact the President of the European Commission, Roy Jenkins.