BRING IT ON
I will, with no great rush of enthusiasm, be voting yes to the alternative vote. It is very far from being a perfect alternative and is not without considerable drawbacks, but it represents an improvement on first passed the post, not least of its advantages is that it offers the possible death sentence on the so called ‘safe seat,’ the modern equivalent of the rotten borough.
Its major drawback is not the threat of far right candidates getting elected, as put about by Baroness Varsi, who is turning out to be an extremely accomplished liar, but more a risk of watery soup flavoured candidates, insipid enough not to offend anyone and garner large number of second preference votes.
The whole campaign thus far has been extremely lacklustre, with an extraordinary degree of dishonesty from the no camp. The whole thing of course is mere tinkering at the edges of a political system that has lost the confidence of the electorate, turnout will be low.
Still from my perspective I look forward to the vote on May 5th for some very narrow, partisan and possibly even parochially frivolous reasons, but one must get ones pleasures where one can. There are two scenarios that can emerge from the developing room on May 6th, both pleasing to me.
a) The yes vote succeeds and David Cameron is seriously discomforted by the Tory right, particularly if the vote is swung by the so called ‘Celtic fringe.’ A major strain is placed upon the coalition with splits emerging in the Tory party.
b) The vote is lost to the yes campaign and Nick Clegg looses the single greatest rationale for the coalition from a Lib Dem perspective, this against the backdrop of massive losses for the Lib Dems in the local council elections. There are serious strains placed upon the coalition.
Electoral politics can be a mean spirited and low business at times, this is a consequence of the stakes being high. As I say I take my pleasures where I can. Bring it on.
Its major drawback is not the threat of far right candidates getting elected, as put about by Baroness Varsi, who is turning out to be an extremely accomplished liar, but more a risk of watery soup flavoured candidates, insipid enough not to offend anyone and garner large number of second preference votes.
The whole campaign thus far has been extremely lacklustre, with an extraordinary degree of dishonesty from the no camp. The whole thing of course is mere tinkering at the edges of a political system that has lost the confidence of the electorate, turnout will be low.
Still from my perspective I look forward to the vote on May 5th for some very narrow, partisan and possibly even parochially frivolous reasons, but one must get ones pleasures where one can. There are two scenarios that can emerge from the developing room on May 6th, both pleasing to me.
a) The yes vote succeeds and David Cameron is seriously discomforted by the Tory right, particularly if the vote is swung by the so called ‘Celtic fringe.’ A major strain is placed upon the coalition with splits emerging in the Tory party.
b) The vote is lost to the yes campaign and Nick Clegg looses the single greatest rationale for the coalition from a Lib Dem perspective, this against the backdrop of massive losses for the Lib Dems in the local council elections. There are serious strains placed upon the coalition.
Electoral politics can be a mean spirited and low business at times, this is a consequence of the stakes being high. As I say I take my pleasures where I can. Bring it on.
