Monday 28 September 2015

Please E-Mail your MP on the importance of Electoral Reform, just as I have done.

I have sent the following message to David Mowat MP, to find out his current position on Britain's First Past The Post electoral system.  I urge all supporters of Electoral Reform to contact their local MP.

 
Dear David Mowat MP,

The 2015 general election was the most disproportionate in British history. First Past the Post is a system that has proved itself to be outdated and is no longer fit for British elections. Democracy in the UK has been around for hundreds of years, but it has never been static. Our democracy is constantly evolving and improving. Will you support reforming our voting system so it is up to scratch in our modern democracy?

Over 400,000 people have signed petitions calling for voting reform. A recent poll showed 74% of the electorate were in favour (http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/press-release/three-quarters-want-more-proportional-voting-system-new-poll-shows). That is a majority of Conservative, Labour, UKIP and Liberal Democrat voters.

At a local level, the marginal Warrington South constituency which you represent raises very important questions of the fairness of the current electoral system.  With Warrington South being a marginal seat, that quite clearly means that those people who vote Conservative here are more powerful than those people who vote Conservative in a safe Tory constituency, such as Tatton.  This cannot be right, can it?

On a national level, I appreciate this issue was the subject of a referendum in 2011, which for me didn't offer a serious alternative to the current electoral system anyway.  We have now since had that most disproportionate election, which has shown our voting system to be totally unrepresentative. UKIP and the Greens received five million votes between them, but only one seat each. The SNP have 95% seats in Scotland with just over half of the votes.

The referendum in 2011, which offered the option of a change to the Alternative Vote system, produced a low turnout in the region of 42%.  I believe there are more British voters who now realise the potential importance this issue has on their lives.  I hope that you will support the campaign for a proportional voting system by helping to raise this issue both within your party but also in Parliament.

Yours sincerely,
 
Andy J Watson

Saturday 12 September 2015

God Save The Queen, but what of the future of Britain's Monarchy?

Queen Elizabeth II is now Britain's longest serving monarch.  I am somebody who generally feels that the Queen has given exemplary service to the nation, and that the monarchy does provide a kind of stability that is appreciated by Prime Ministers of different parties.

I am though also someone who considers that powers held by the monarch need to be drastically reduced.  I firmly believe that the Royal Family should not be able to have any influence whatsoever on any policy area in which they have a vested interest, with hunting perhaps as a prime example. 

One common perception that the monarch cannot vote, is not quite true.  It is just that they choose not to, in recognition that whichever party leader can command the support of the House of Commons, will form a government.  Going forward, I feel it would be desirable that the monarch should have their right to vote removed, to reinforce that permanent neutrality.

Whenever I see Prince Charles on the TV news speak out on any issue, I quite frankly start to breathe quite loudly.  As the heir to the throne, he does at times flirt with reckless judgement by opening his mouth.  Sure, he can have whatever views he wants on whatever issue, just as long as they are kept private.

Her Majesty has enjoyed strong relationships with Labour and Conservative Prime Ministers alike.  I have no doubt that she would have been seen at times as a valuable source of advice by all Prime Ministers who served her, in private.  This is the road Prince Charles must now embark upon, as succession approaches.

On balance, I am pretty sure that I would prefer the UK to remain as a monarchy, and not go down the road of becoming a republic.  That said, as someone who is passionate on issues such as a fairer voting system for the House of Commons, and a reform of the House of Lords, I have to say that I have recently felt the need to question my long term support for the monarchy.

Is the hereditary principle right?  Chuka Umunna, the senior Labour politician went on record this week to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, and her service to the nation.   He added that he does not generally support the hereditary principle, but that the future of the monarchy did not register once for him whilst campaigning in May's general election.

Should the British Monarchy ever be engulfed in a succession of scandals, and if Prince Charles does not heed my warning, then it could be a cocktail which would see me switch to favour a move towards Britain becoming a republic. 

I do hope the monarchy does continue to evolve towards being effectively just a figurehead.  The reason I say this is that to preserve our democracy there are constitutional issues of greater importance, such as fair voting for the House of Commons and House of Lords reform. 

After all, when one considers other European countries who retain monarchies effectively as figureheads, such as the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, are we talking about nations who get labelled as being non-democratic?  I think not.

Thursday 3 September 2015

Dear constituents of Runnymede and Weybridge,

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Andy, and I am a blogger with a passion for electoral and constitutional reform. 

Many of you will take pride in being the parliamentary constituency of the sitting Foreign Secretary, not to mention Philip Hammond's Conservative majority in the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency increasing in May's general election from five years ago.

My politics are very much on the centre ground.  Of the five general elections I have been eligible to vote in, I have voted Conservative on the one occasion.  That was my first general election in 1997, when Tony Blair came to power in a landslide victory for Labour.

I have my reasons for not voting Conservative since the late nineties.  I will add that I consider it unlikely that I will vote for the Tories again in the foreseeable future.  However, for as long as I remain officially unattached to any political party, the only people I will ever completely rule out voting for are fascists and non-democrats.

As much as you may take satisfaction in the local Tory majority increasing, I do believe you also need to take a look at the future of democracy in the UK, and the role of safe Conservative seats like Runnymede and Weybridge.  Ever since the seat was created in 1997, it has always been a one horse race, with Mr Phil Hammond always the winner. 

Considering the lowest majority that Phil has ever held the Runnymede and Weybridge seat by was a little over 8,000 votes in 2001, this shows that voters in this seat are amongst the least powerful voters in the UK.  You are after all only voting for only the one House of Commons seat, which is unlikely to ever change hands between parties.

In fact, let's say PM Dave or any mid-term Conservative successor should decide to sack Phil from the Cabinet, then Phil always has the fallback of knowing that as MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, he has effectively got a job for life! 

With the future of the House of Lords very much under the microscope more than ever before, jobs for life is very much a noticeable trend throughout our politics at the moment.  As Phil's job for life as your local MP goes, that says much about the First Past The Post electoral system.

First Past The Post is now a flawed electoral system, in an era which now sees less people vote for either of the two main parties.  Of all democratic systems, First Past The Post provides the least representative government. 

The 2015 General Election has seen a single party gain a parliamentary majority on nearly a 37% share of the vote.  Furthermore, the current electoral map shows that safe Tory seats like Runnymede and Weybridge (as well as safe Labour seats) are playing their part in dividing Britain! 

Do you have the courage to challenge this discredited electoral system?  If you wish to engage with myself, you can do so on twitter, @AndyWatson75.

Best wishes

Andy J Watson