FluffyMcDeath said:
smithy said:
My real problem is the biggest losers, the Libdems, get to choose who the next PM will be.[...]
The voting system must change, but I remain to be convinced what the best way to do it is.
Conservative Votes 36.1% Seats 47.1%
Labour Votes 29% Seats 39.7%
Lib-Dem Votes 23% Seats 8.8%
Others Votes 11.9% Seats 4.3%
So, yes the Lib-Dems were the biggest losers because they got far less seats than they deserved. The fact that they got such a high percentage of the vote but such a small percentage of the seats implies that their support was more widespread rather than per riding.
23% of the votes but 100% of the power. Clegg has just dispatched Gordon Brown, so that was Clegg's 1 vote vs 8,000,000 voters' votes.
The electoral system here rewards widespread appeal, something the Lib-dems' policies don't have, but hope PR will help increase seats rather than making some attractive policies. Unfortunately for the Lib-dems, PR will probably net them fewer seats. Many, perhaps half of Lib-dem voters, are people who vote Lib-dem as a protest vote, strategic votes with a "not Labour" vote in Libdem/Labour marginals seats, a "not Tory" vote in Libdem/Tory marginals. With PR, a "not"/strategic vote isn't needed, for protest voters, a raft of other parties capable of gaining seats are viable leaving the Lib-dems being squeezed at both sides.
This theory is shown in elections for the EU parliament, where candidates are selected using PR, and the Lib-dem share of the vote is always half that of a first-past-post general elections. The last election they got 12% and came in a poor 4th. They should be careful what they wish for, because PR in the UK will strengthen the right.
That being said - they don't actually get to decide who the next PM is.
That's just Rupert Murdoch kvetching that he wasn't able to deliver the electorate solidly to the Tories. The whole idea that a party that got almost a quarter of the votes shouldn't have any say in the government is just Murdoch's (and the other media political backers of parties) sour grapes.
Of course the Lib-dems decide. For example, they've just removed Brown as Labour party leader (despite his 8 million votes) because Clegg didn't like him.
As far as boogeyman Murdoch goes - you have it back to front. He likes to back the winner, as he did in 97 onwards when his papers supported Labour. He followed the public mood again when he switched to the Tories this time. Whether it's politics, Pop Idol, or whatever, the Sun likes to be seen to be supporting the winner.
