Electoral Reform: Can you count to three?

The debate of electoral reform with the forthcoming referendum on AV is beginning to heat up as the political wranglings and machinations of the YES and NO campaigns shift into gear. The media are not short of articles [click here!], some of which are quite useful in terms of setting out the issues on both sides which can be snaffled up by Unit 1.

Andrew Rawnsley in this Sunday’s Observer has a wry article: The cynical enemies of electoral reform think we’re stupid where he asserts that those against the alternative vote believe they can persuade the British that we are too dim to count up to three. The article is a highly recommended read. Here is an exerpt: “Most voters have yet to engage with the arguments. I belong to that tragically nerdish minority who are fascinated by electoral systems and think they can make a significant difference to the quality of politics and governance. Perhaps you too are a member of this small club of saddos who enjoy teasing out the rival merits and demerits of the single transferable vote versus the additional member system. Most of our fellow citizens have, meanwhile, been getting on with their lives, blissfully unaware that debating the pros and cons of different electoral systems can be better than sex.”