I'm afraid that this looks like a plot to remove smaller political parties, neuter the Liberal Democrats, and return British politics to the two-party red/blue politics of the 1950's. No, if they are serious about opening up the political process, why not campaign for multi-member open list constituencies elected using STV? That way, anyone can run, political parties are forced to offer up a range of candidates in order to appeal to a diverse community, and you abolish the safe seat.Instead, this is not so much a missed opportunity as an attempt to hitch a ride on the bandwagon of public revulsion at politics, politicians and all of their works.
Spot on Mark.
"That way, anyone can run"
ReplyDeleteNot as a party candidate. No matter how open STV is (and I don't dispute that a choice between different party candidates is a good thing), it would obviously backfire for Labour to run, say, 8 candidates in a 5 member seat, for example, simply because not everyone fills out complete preference votes, and the more people in a list, the more a party risks being affected by this.
Nobody seem to have spotted that the Conservative "open primaries" are a con trick, since Cameron and Central Office choose the shortlist: only STV engages the whole constituency electorate.
ReplyDelete"since Cameron and Central Office choose the shortlist: only STV engages the whole constituency electorate."
ReplyDeleteParties would still choose short-lists under STV.