Electoral Reform

Welcome to Voteliberalist. We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Electoral Reform
Topic Started: Jan 27 2009, 10:29 PM (156 Views)
Simon Campbell	Jan 27 2009, 10:29 PM Post #1
Member Posts: 6 Group: Members Member #12 Joined: January 27, 2009	Just an idea. What is the parties position on Electoral Reform? That is on things like PR and such. I am all in favour of PR especially when we have such a lopsided system like First-Past-The-Post. If the party is in favour of PR as a way to seek representation, then what kind of PR would the party advocate? Alternative Vote? STV? Would we like to see a Royal Commission established to see what kinds of PR would work for this country? Just a start....am keen to see this as part of the Party Programme.
	Simon Campbell - the oldest member on the forum


Anton	Jan 27 2009, 11:04 PM Post #2
Administrator Posts: 45 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: October 19, 2008	Interesting subject - no, we haven't really looked into it at all (until now! ) Royal Commission then referendum is probably the way to go with large constitutional reforms like this. FPTP does have its advantages - representation of constituents is important I'd say. However, as you say, it's very lopsided. I'd agree that there's probably a better way of doing it. Doing a quick bit of research into other forms, the choice is truly staggering. Not only are there different forms of PR, but different methods of counting votes - the Sainte-Lague method, the d'Hondt method, etc. What would you suggest? You've clearly looked more into this subject than me.
	Relish the Challenge. http://voteliberalist.org


Simon Campbell	Feb 4 2009, 08:29 PM Post #3
Member Posts: 6 Group: Members Member #12 Joined: January 27, 2009	I just had a look at that wikipedia page and it gave me a headache. Will need to do some research on this and get back to you with my views.
	Simon Campbell - the oldest member on the forum


Anton	Feb 10 2009, 12:29 AM Post #4
Administrator Posts: 45 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: October 19, 2008	Ok, great. I've actually just contacted Ken Ritchie, director of Electoral Reform UK. They're in favour of an STV as well. He recommended we take a look at their site for some ideas It's at www.electoral-reform.org.uk
	Relish the Challenge. http://voteliberalist.org


FloTom	Apr 12 2009, 03:48 PM Post #5
Member Posts: 8 Group: Members Member #19 Joined: April 10, 2009	I believe it should be illegal not to vote. To compensate for this there should be a couple of options added to the ballot paper such as abstention and none of the above. Attached to this post: engflag.jpg (9.53 KB)



Anton	May 2 2009, 09:23 PM Post #6
Administrator Posts: 45 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: October 19, 2008	FloTom, I disagree. Voting should be optional - it's not up to government to force it, even if it does include the other options. Looking at the evidence, some countries have very high turnout rates even without compulsory voting (which I presume is the aim of what you're proposing). It's a matter of inspiring the electorate, not forcing them.
	Relish the Challenge. http://voteliberalist.org


« Previous Topic · Manifesto · Next Topic »