Labour and electoral reform

I’ve noted on another posting that due to the challenges facing Barack Obama as President, it is an exciting time to be studying American Politics. Likewise on this side of the Atlantic given that we are due a General Election before the end of this academic year.

Many are predicting electoral wipe-out for the current government on the scale Labour faced in 1983 and the Tories on a similar scale in 1997. But a report in today’s Observer suggests that Gordon Brown may seriously consider promising a poll on electoral reform on the same day as the election as a means of minimising collateral electoral damage.

According to Toby Helm in the Observer:

“Labour’s chances of winning the next general election would be given a significant boost if Gordon Brown ordered a referendum on changing the voting system, according to a new opinion poll.

The YouGov survey shows that almost a third of Liberal Democrats would be more likely to switch to Labour if given a say on voting reform – enough to help the government hold on to a batch of key marginal seats on election day.

In addition, a third of voters who say they are currently “inclined” to vote Labour would be more encouraged to do so if a referendum were to be offered. In all, 17% of the electorate would be more likely to vote Labour if given a say.

As pressure for a national debate grows, the Observer can reveal that Brown is taking personal charge of the debate in government on whether to hold a referendum. The prime minister has written a letter inviting a delegation from the Vote for a Change coalition, which is leading the push for a referendum, to meet ministers to discuss their ideas. He insists that he wants to be “closely involved” in the talks.”

It is said, however, that Brown favours the Alternative Vote, which is of course not a system of proportional representation. Brown has long opposed changing to a system of PR and his opposition has been strengthened by the experience in Scotland where the additional member system has opened the door to a nationalist government. Lib Dem supporters would not be ecstatic with a non PR alternative, but may accept it as a electoral reform stepping stone towards a PR system some way down the line. After all, politics is, as someone famously said, is the art of compromise.

Further weight to the pro reform debate comes from a number of high profile academics in the same paper’s letters page:

“We very much welcome the renewed urgency with which reform of the electoral system for the House of Commons is now being debated. We recognise that electoral reform will not in itself be sufficient to renew public confidence in our democratic institutions. Nevertheless, to continue denying the British public their long overdue opportunity to remedy the unfairness at the heart of our politics would render any package of constitutional reform inadequate.

The case for the reform is overwhelming. To hold that the outcome of a general election should broadly reflect the way the nation has voted is a basic tenet of a democratic society. There is no justification for a system that means a small minority of votes decide the final result and leaves millions with no option but to conclude that their votes do not count.

We believe the British people deserve the opportunity to register their views on reform of the voting system not later than the date of the next general election, and we look forward to the opportunity to put the merits of the case for change to the court of public opinion.”

A useful source of material for essays on this subject?