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SLG
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PR for Westminster?Positive news, but I really can't see Labour or the Tories ever voting for PR.
| Quote: | Brown opens door to PR elections at Westminster
MICHAEL SETTLE, Chief UK Political Correspondent
Campaigners who want MPs to be elected by proportional representation last night welcomed the signal from Gordon Brown that he is open to a new debate on reforming elections to the House of Commons.
The chancellor indicated his support for debating voting reform, including the possibility of votes at 16, in light of an independent report into British democracy, which recommends a raft of changes to improve the nation's political system.
"Power To The People" by the Power Inquiry, chaired by QC and Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy, claims that unless major changes are made the political system is in danger of "meltdown".
While Mr Brown, who is expected to be the next prime minister when Tony Blair steps aside, did not explicitly commit himself to any of the inquiry's recommendations, he made clear he shared its aim of re-engaging voters with the political process and encouraging active citizenship.
In a newspaper article, the chancellor wrote that Britain was witnessing "the rise of a new kind of citizen, involved in their neighbourhoods and now demanding the right to set the agenda".
He explained that the March 22 budget would seek to encourage the "practical responsible citizenship in action" displayed by local associations, charities and voluntary organisations which took on jobs the government found difficult to do.
In a sign that he is already preparing to lead Labour into the 2009/10 general election, Mr Brown said the next manifesto should prioritise long-term constitutional reform, including the devolution of power to a more local level.
"The Power report opens the way to renewed debate on issues from the role of parties and electoral reform to voting at 16," he added.
Asked if Tony Blair thought people should be able to vote at 16, his spokesman said that "the important thing is people should debate" the report's ideas.
Last night Make Votes Count, which campaigns for PR at Westminster, described the inquiry's report as "a significant milestone in winning the argument that electoral reform is a necessary step towards revitalising our democracy".
It added: "In an additional boost to the campaign, Gordon Brown has signalled he is prepared to reopen the debate on electoral reform for the House of Commons."
The Electoral Reform Society, another campaigning group on voting reform, said it welcomed both the inquiry's proposal to move away from the traditional first-past-the-post system and "the support of Gordon Brown for a wider debate on electoral reform".
Baroness Kennedy explained the report had been caused by falling voter turn-out and its aim was to find out whether this was due to apathy or discontentment with the present political process.
"What we found... was quite alarming. If politicians look at this report they really should take it seriously because what we found was a very deep and profound alienation."
She argued that it was vital to put power back into people's hands, and emphasised that when they were asked for their views they had to believe they would be listened to.
The report cites the example of the Scottish Parliament in which MSPs consider people's petitions, and recommends this be taken up by the House of Commons and Whitehall departments so that the government should reconsider unpopular policies.
"People should be allowed, if they are objecting to something that's happening or they want some change, that they have the power to petition parliament for legislative change themselves," Baroness Kennedy explained.
"On major issues . . . if enough people felt this is something we don't want to see happening, you actually could have a petition of, say, 1% or 2% of the population to place that before parliament and to say we want you to reconsider your policy."
She also highlighted Mr Brown's intervention, saying she was "particularly interested" in how he might be prepared to look again at electoral reform for Westminster.
Elsewhere, elections minister Harriet Harman announced a package of tough new measures intended to combat electoral fraud ahead of May's local council polls in England. They include new offences of falsely applying for a postal or proxy vote and of supplying false information or failing to provide information to the electoral registration officer at any time. |
http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/57032.html
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Aventinian
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Wouldn't the Tories actually have more seats under most forms of PR at the moment?
Although I was sceptical, the Scottish Parliament has demonstrated one thing - the list system works quite well.
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azzuri
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The Tories would have a LOT more seats under PR.
But there is absolutely NO WAY that a Labour Government would vote in PR - the phrase "turkeys voting for christmas" comes to mind.
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SLG
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The Tories would have a lot more seats now. Labour a lot less.
When the Tories get back into power, they will be the ones who benefit from fptp.
That is why a government sitting in Westminster will never want to vote for PR.
We only got PR in Edinburgh to keep the SNP out of a majority. We only got PR in local elections becuase the Lib Dems threatened to leave the coalition at a time when Labour were deperate to ensure stability.
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True Scotsman
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I don't see the reason why the Conseratives are against PR because they would get benefit from PR & get extra seats. Single Transferable Vote will be used in the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election against the wishes of the Labour Councellors. Labour Councellors opposed the move because they worried they will lose lots of Councils to other Political Parties. It is said that Labour might lose about 200 Councellors or more but we will find out the results in over a years time, which is a long way.
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FREEDOM FOR SCOTLAND!!!!!!!!
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Aventinian
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| SLG wrote: | The Tories would have a lot more seats now. Labour a lot less.
When the Tories get back into power, they will be the ones who benefit from fptp.
That is why a government sitting in Westminster will never want to vote for PR.
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Wouldn't the Tories benefit even with the majority? After all, Conservative voters are more spread out across the country while Labour voters are less so mainly due to a larger support base within the cities.
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SLG
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I don't think so, not by the stage where they are first in enough seats to win a majority. I think that the Tory vote is still concentrated enough to make that the case. I don't have any analysis in front of me, so I could be wrong.
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