FPTP to the AV
I had a discussion with a few colleagues about FPTP and AV the other day, where in response to the fact that FPTP allows candidates who don't win a majority of the vote to still be elected, someone posed the question "but FPTP is the same process used for determining the X-Factor winner and the number 1 in the singles chart. It doesn't matter that the other contestants/songs may have accrued more votes in total, it only matters that one individual got more votes than anyone else."
I pondered this and eventually came back with the response
"But it doesn't matter that more people may have chosen/voted more for all the other artists/contestants than the winner,because the X Factor doesn't matter. None of the contestants are going on to make decisions about the future of our country on the back of their winning. Plus the X Factor happens every year (although it seems more often) and elections happen far less frequently. As for the charts, well they happen weekly and never look at the aggregate yearly or even monthly figures as to who the number one might be. And, furthermore, the charts don't matter either."
FPTP is a fine system for picking which is the most popular piece of music that week or which talentless non-entity is most preferred by the screaming cabbage like masses watching the X-Factor, but it is a poor system for choosing government.
Another problem with FPTP is that it is part of the reason why we have so many safe seats in this country. Seats which almost never change hands and, as a result, if you live in an area with a safe seat you are effectively disenfranchised unless you happen to support the party which controls that seat. That is a pretty shit thing to be denied your political voice because of where you live. We cry foul when people have to leave their home countries when people are repressed by a dictatorship and go bomb the crap out of said dictators, but I don't see anyone lobbing missiles towards any of the Labour, Lib Dem or Conservative safe seats round the UK. Of course you could argue that if you want a political voice, you could just move to an area with a hotly contested seat, but that would make you an arse with no better debating ability than that of a rabid baboon that lacked the ability to debate.
Now AV isn't going to remove safe seats over night, but it will chip away at the same. AV reduces the need to vote tactically, so you won't need to vote for party Y to ensure that party X doesn't win, even though you'd prefer to vote for party Z. Poor old party Z doesn't get a look in, because you'd rather keep the worst option out, then get your preferred option in. AV will help chip away at some of the critical mass the bigger parties have, simply through dint of getting votes out to smaller parties who wouldn't normally get a look in. So you can vote party Z in your number one slot because you think they're best, vote party Y in at number two as insurance to keep party X out and finally in your third slot you can vote for another party that takes your fancy. Or, if you're suffering from some sort of derangement, you can even vote for party X out of some weird sense of sympathy.
Awwww, aren't you sweet.
It is easy to make generalisations about partys who hold safe seats. The MP doesn't work as hard in the constituency or the house, etc etc etc. Now that might be true for some MPs in safe seats, but not all. Under an AV system you've got a better chance, over time, and getting rid of the bad eggs in safe seats, while the genuinely good MPs will stay in because they'll have proven to their constituencies they're worth having, above and beyond any national political fiasco's their party might be involved in.
As someone who feels somewhat disenfranchised by the political environment, and indeed has done for his entire voting life, I'm not persuaded that FPTP has anything to offer me. The people arguing in favour of it appear to offer no real arguments and it is little more than veiled self interest. Naturally that is also true for many of the parties arguing in favour of AV, but at least I can see the possibilities there, instead of a future that switches from Blue to Red and Red to Blue, with an occasional burst of orange or green every few decades.
*edit*
As a paid up member of the entirely non-partisan civil service, I should add that I see this as an issue which transcends politics. This is about how we elect our Government's and while different parties have differing views, saying you prefer FPTP or prefer AV does not tie your flag to the mast of any political party. You can still be a life long Tory and still be in favour of AV, irrespective of what the PM thinks. Likewise, as much as the Deputy PM may want AV, you can still support the Lib Dems and think that FPTP is the better system.
I pondered this and eventually came back with the response
"But it doesn't matter that more people may have chosen/voted more for all the other artists/contestants than the winner,because the X Factor doesn't matter. None of the contestants are going on to make decisions about the future of our country on the back of their winning. Plus the X Factor happens every year (although it seems more often) and elections happen far less frequently. As for the charts, well they happen weekly and never look at the aggregate yearly or even monthly figures as to who the number one might be. And, furthermore, the charts don't matter either."
FPTP is a fine system for picking which is the most popular piece of music that week or which talentless non-entity is most preferred by the screaming cabbage like masses watching the X-Factor, but it is a poor system for choosing government.
Another problem with FPTP is that it is part of the reason why we have so many safe seats in this country. Seats which almost never change hands and, as a result, if you live in an area with a safe seat you are effectively disenfranchised unless you happen to support the party which controls that seat. That is a pretty shit thing to be denied your political voice because of where you live. We cry foul when people have to leave their home countries when people are repressed by a dictatorship and go bomb the crap out of said dictators, but I don't see anyone lobbing missiles towards any of the Labour, Lib Dem or Conservative safe seats round the UK. Of course you could argue that if you want a political voice, you could just move to an area with a hotly contested seat, but that would make you an arse with no better debating ability than that of a rabid baboon that lacked the ability to debate.
Now AV isn't going to remove safe seats over night, but it will chip away at the same. AV reduces the need to vote tactically, so you won't need to vote for party Y to ensure that party X doesn't win, even though you'd prefer to vote for party Z. Poor old party Z doesn't get a look in, because you'd rather keep the worst option out, then get your preferred option in. AV will help chip away at some of the critical mass the bigger parties have, simply through dint of getting votes out to smaller parties who wouldn't normally get a look in. So you can vote party Z in your number one slot because you think they're best, vote party Y in at number two as insurance to keep party X out and finally in your third slot you can vote for another party that takes your fancy. Or, if you're suffering from some sort of derangement, you can even vote for party X out of some weird sense of sympathy.
Awwww, aren't you sweet.
It is easy to make generalisations about partys who hold safe seats. The MP doesn't work as hard in the constituency or the house, etc etc etc. Now that might be true for some MPs in safe seats, but not all. Under an AV system you've got a better chance, over time, and getting rid of the bad eggs in safe seats, while the genuinely good MPs will stay in because they'll have proven to their constituencies they're worth having, above and beyond any national political fiasco's their party might be involved in.
As someone who feels somewhat disenfranchised by the political environment, and indeed has done for his entire voting life, I'm not persuaded that FPTP has anything to offer me. The people arguing in favour of it appear to offer no real arguments and it is little more than veiled self interest. Naturally that is also true for many of the parties arguing in favour of AV, but at least I can see the possibilities there, instead of a future that switches from Blue to Red and Red to Blue, with an occasional burst of orange or green every few decades.
*edit*
As a paid up member of the entirely non-partisan civil service, I should add that I see this as an issue which transcends politics. This is about how we elect our Government's and while different parties have differing views, saying you prefer FPTP or prefer AV does not tie your flag to the mast of any political party. You can still be a life long Tory and still be in favour of AV, irrespective of what the PM thinks. Likewise, as much as the Deputy PM may want AV, you can still support the Lib Dems and think that FPTP is the better system.