Why England Needs A Fairer Voting System
Politics in England is pretty boring, because it’s always the same few political parties. That’s because unlike most countries in Europe, we still use a ‘first-past-the-post’ voting system. This ensures that fringe (new) parties can never get a foot in the door, and stops any real change happening.
In mainland Europe, Greens for instance are often part of Cabinets in power-sharing (the same happens in Australia and New Zealand). And even ‘tiny parties’ like one Party for the Animals in The Netherlands, managed to elect a few MPs, which led to sweeping legislation in parliament.
So how do we bring in fairer voting systems? It’s very difficult, because the only people who can really make those changes, are the ones in government. And once they get a majority, they don’t want things to change!
Fairer voting systems would also encourage better quality MPs (not just ones who studied politics, worked as interns, then took over the seats when said MPs retired).
For now, register to vote (ask to opt out of the open register, so your name is not sold on). And write to your MP on issues that affect you: they work for you!
What Is The Fairest Voting System?
Electoral Reform Society recommends Single Transferable Vote as the best system (used in Ireland, which has many independent MPs).
The argument given for first-past-the-post is that it maintains strong constituency links (nonsense considering many MPs are ‘flown in’ to fight seats where they don’t live – Nigel Farage did not grow up in Clacton-on-Sea).
Unlike most PR systems, STV maintains strong constituency links, which is also good to reduce the risk of extremist MPs being elected.
It also states that the present voting system means present MPs hold onto ‘one safe seat’ often for decades, and that’s why it’s more difficult to get more independent MPs elected. Under the present system, few seats change hands, unless someone is retiring or dies.
More Women-Friendly Politics?
Women-friendly politics is not about strident beliefs either way on controversial issues like abortion (this is more a personal belief based usually on faith, that likely won’t change).
A political system that is ‘women-friendly’, is more about a society where women earn the same as men, and laws are in place to protect them, like designing safer streets and handing out harsher penalties for domestic abuse (which also affects some men).
Although the Suffragette movement (which brought women the vote) was heroic in some ways, it was tragic in others. Not only did some women bomb building, but an innocent horse was injured, when one woman threw herself in its path (she had already been imprisoned twice, for hurling rocks at the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s car).
Her cause was just. But it was not the horse’s fault. Just as dolphins who had toxic paint thrown into their Bristol river home were not to blame, when a statue of a slave trader was toppled.
Would More Women Bring Peaceful Politics?
You would think so, wouldn’t you (as the gentler, fairer sex). Giving women the vote is a pretty modern thing. The House of Lords only gave ‘approval’ for women over 30 to vote in 1918. And it was only in 1928, when women over 21 could vote.
Some Tories cite Margaret Thatcher as the ultimate ‘great woman leader’. Of course, miners would disagree. Ex-MP Matthew Harris once got stuck in a lift with her, and said up-close she had ‘the eyes of an exhausted woman’.
Perhaps her legacy of not looking after the most vulnerable in society began to haunt her, even before her death.
It is true that the more peaceful Scandinavian countries tend to have younger female leaders (Finland’s Green Party leader spent time in a shelter as a child, in the first country to hit ‘zero homelessness’.
Previous Green MP (and party leader) Caroline Lucas famously campaigned to get page-3 girls off the newspapers, joining the ‘news, not boobs’ campaign! She wore a slogan t-shirt in the House of Commons and was told unless she changed, she would be thrown out.
She said it was quite funny that she was getting thrown out for wearing clothes, for trying to protect vulnerable girls who were asked to take their clothes off to let men ogle them!
