Brown Champions Electoral Change!
Gordon Brown has announced a radical plan to reform the UK voting system. Electoral form is an old chestnut that rears its head from time to time, but in a move that has surprised Westminster it now seems that the Prime Minister will introduce the measures to the House of Commons as early as next week.
The current voting system has often been criticised as being unfair on smaller parties, and the Liberal Democrats always make proportional representation a keystone of their electoral manifestos. The Labour proposal however does not offer the proportional representation favoured by Nick Clegg and his party but instead argues that an ‘alternate vote’ system similar to that used in Australia should be implemented.
Under this system, commonly referred to as AV, voters would rank all candidates in order of preference. The winning candidate needs to secure 50% of the vote, and if this is not achieved on the initial count then the votes given to the least supported candidates are redistributed according to the preferences stated on the voting slip. This process continues until one candidate has achieved the requisite 50%.
The planned reform will have to pass through several stages before it can become law: the scheme will need to be approved by both Houses of Parliament and then be put to a national referendum of all voters. It is thought that this process could be completed by late 2011 at the earliest.
Whilst this system of voting cannot be used in the forthcoming General Election, it is being seen by many as a ploy by Gordon Brown to increase his chances of hanging onto power for another term. Recent opinion polls have seen a slight resurgence in the previously moribund Labour support and there is some suggestion that the election could lead to a hung parliament. I believe that Brown is dangling the carrot of electoral reform to secure the support of the Liberal Democrats if a hung parliament does arise. There is also the possibility that these proposals could help to sway potential Lib Dem voters into backing Labour in the election itself.
Whatever the reason behind the plans it seems certain that at least some level of electoral reform will happen sooner rather than later. With the boost that this will give to minority parties it could change the political landscape of Britain beyond recognition. It remains to be seen whether the Brown plan could breathe new life into the Labour Party or spell the end of their electoral chances for many elections to come.
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