[Chris_SVS]

Originally Posted by Seeker

ok, here's your full quote



We have no long term experience of two (or more parties) ruling together, nor do we have any experience of proportional representation. The Con/LibDem pact was a coalition that did modify the more extreme Conservative behaviour - the glaring failure was the student loan promise by Clegg. We have had 300 odd years of people shouting across the Commons floor at each other (hear, hear!) maybe PR would stop the shouting and enable some constructive listening. The current government is highlighting the failures of our system by exploiting its weaknesses for idealogical gains not for what is beneficial for the country.

The problem with first past the post is the fact that the "losers" in an election have no representation plus we get politics that tend towards more extremes. Look how the Tories started to panic at the rise of the Brexit party and started their drift to the right. When ministers played by their "unwritten rules" (Code of Conduct - hah!) it sort of worked but in the current situation the rules are being broken with no way of correcting it because the rule breakers are setting the (new) rules.

I'm in a Conservative constituency (Cleethorpes and Brigg). 73k electorate, 63% turnout. So 46k people voted, 32k voted Tory/14k voted for other parties (where's their voice?) my MP always votes for the party (I have checked) even when he agrees with what I'm saying - how am I being represented? Plainly, I'm not. He's 71 years old and has views that represent the 1950s (Martin Vickers - check his voting record) - most people vote for him because he has a nice avuncular face but have no idea of how he votes (I've asked around).

A PR system would give 14k people in the example above a voice where currently, they have none and, judging by prior voting records, never will have. How many times have you heard: "What's the point of voting, it never makes a difference? In my case it's true (but I vote anyway), it would take an egregious government screw up to overthrow Vicker's majority.

Edit - PR is the most common electoral system worldwide so, plainly, it can work.

We do, it's not great