| Majority my... 20:31 - Dec 16 with 960 views | Kropotkin123 |
As you know, before the election I claimed that I didn’t recognise the forthcoming result because I argued it was undemocratic. I congratulate the Conservatives on their victory, it is a real coup! Jokes aside, if you are a Lib Dem supporter or a Labour supporter, you only have your own party to blame.
Labour governed from 1997-2010 and decided not to bring in a form of proportional representation. The Liberal Democrats decided that a 5-year coalition without a referendum on proportional representation was worthwhile.
Moreover, the parties read the election landscape incorrectly and were tactically naive. I was told that political parties are like buses - You get on the bus that takes you closer to home. So was it worth agreeing to vote on a new bus route, when we had one two years earlier? There was massive anti-Corbyn sentiment prior to the election that was obviously going to end in tears.
Conservative Majority?
Like most of you I woke up to the news that the conservatives had won a landslide victory (I no longer do all-nighters watching it). The initial results looked impressive - 365 seats - a sizeable majority even before SF tell the UK parliament to do one.
I was rather less impressed when I saw their vote share increased from 42.3% to 43.6%. Even in a month of Sundays a 1.3% increase transitioning into a 47 seat increase is unbelievable. That is before we even point out that 43.6% is not a majority.
If a child told me 43.6% was a majority, I’d question the education system. The fact that adults swallow this rubbish is beyond me. It is theft. The majority that is claimed is stolen. But stolen from who?
Liberal Democrats have a bad night? And other misrepresentations.
It was claimed that the Liberal Democrats had a “bad night”. Afterall their leader lost their seat. But as much as the board takes its collective joy from Bluefish’s suffering, the election system stole his vote. It decided that Bluefish’s votes was not worth the same as others.
The Liberal Democrats increased their vote share by 4.2%. That’s an increase of over 3 times the Conservatives. What did the Liberal Democrats extra 1,324,562 voters get as a reward for casting their vote? -1 seat. This was a misrepresentation of -65 seats, which was an increase of misrepresentation from their -36 seats in 2017.
The environmental movement increased their vote share, but still only received 1 of their 18 seats. The Brexit Party got 642,323 votes and no seats, which was a misrepresentation of -13.
A mandate for independence?
Another party claiming they had a mandate from the people was the SNP. With 1.2m votes, they had a misrepresentation on a UK level of 22 and on a Scottish level of 21. With 45% of the Scottish vote they claimed to have a mandate to have a second referendum. Bizzare to say the least.
North of the border the conservatives fell victim to the system, losing 9 seats. This also highlights how bad the misrepresentation was in England. Labour also lost 10 seats they deserved here and the LD 2.
A broken system
With 47million registered voters, one third of voters thought the democratic system wasn’t worth their time. You can tell from my contemptuous tone, that I was one of them. [Post edited 17 Dec 2019 9:55]
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| Majority my... on 09:56 - Dec 17 with 757 views | Kropotkin123 |
Edited, so Scottish bit reads more accurately. | |
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| Majority my... on 09:58 - Dec 17 with 745 views | chicoazul |
Forgive me, I am dashing out so no time to google, but we did have a vote on PR didnt we? 2011. |  |
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| Majority my... on 10:01 - Dec 17 with 737 views | StokieBlue |
Some good points in there.
"I was rather less impressed when I saw their vote share increased from 42.3% to 43.6%. Even in a month of Sundays a 1.3% increase transitioning into a 47 seat increase is unbelievable."
This isn't the full picture. A 1.3% increase isn't what won them 47 seats, it's a product of their increase and the fact that Labour decreased their share of the vote by 7.9%.
Doesn't mean your point in general isn't valid though.
SB |  |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Majority my... on 10:01 - Dec 17 with 735 views | usm |
| Majority my... on 09:58 - Dec 17 by chicoazul |
Forgive me, I am dashing out so no time to google, but we did have a vote on PR didnt we? 2011. |
Yes but some people didnt like the result so we need another one |  |
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| Majority my... on 10:02 - Dec 17 with 729 views | Darth_Koont |
Agree with the overall gist that our democratic system just isn't fit for purpose anymore. And with upwards of 60% of votes not counting at all because they weren't for a winning candidate at the local level, it's no wonder we have a national issue with people feeling disenfranchised and unrepresented. |  |
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| Majority my... on 10:03 - Dec 17 with 724 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Majority my... on 10:01 - Dec 17 by StokieBlue |
Some good points in there.
"I was rather less impressed when I saw their vote share increased from 42.3% to 43.6%. Even in a month of Sundays a 1.3% increase transitioning into a 47 seat increase is unbelievable."
This isn't the full picture. A 1.3% increase isn't what won them 47 seats, it's a product of their increase and the fact that Labour decreased their share of the vote by 7.9%.
Doesn't mean your point in general isn't valid though.
SB |
If anything, it strengthens it. It is the performance of the main rival that influences their seats going up, not their performance. In a transparent voting system, it is just down to your performance. | |
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| Majority my... on 10:05 - Dec 17 with 712 views | usm |
So, if 1/3rd of voters didnt vote should we have a third of the seats unfilled? Presumably so. | |
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| Majority my... on 10:06 - Dec 17 with 698 views | Darth_Koont |
| Majority my... on 09:58 - Dec 17 by chicoazul |
Forgive me, I am dashing out so no time to google, but we did have a vote on PR didnt we? 2011. |
No, it was a vote on AV which is a poor version. | |
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| Majority my... on 10:10 - Dec 17 with 679 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Majority my... on 10:05 - Dec 17 by usm |
So, if 1/3rd of voters didnt vote should we have a third of the seats unfilled? Presumably so. |
That would be amusing.
As for your point above, It is not about liking it or not. You are asking the two main benefactors (CON and LAB supporters) if it is okay to steal other people's voting power (LD, BRX, GRN). | |
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| Majority my... on 10:10 - Dec 17 with 680 views | Barneycurley |
The problem i believe is from my limited experience is that charging political structures can lead to even more marginal governments and then the need for the 'off the wall' independents. They end up getting elected with no real political experience (not a bad thing you may say) and some very niche outcomes they demand for their constituencies.
Here as example a rather interesting character from Tasmania continues to get national legislation changed for the state because she continues to share the cross benches and holds an important vote, now thats great and all but is that really proportional?
But that's a small snapshot of what ive witnessed but all that glitters is not always gold. |  |
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| Majority my... on 10:10 - Dec 17 with 674 views | chicoazul |
| Majority my... on 10:06 - Dec 17 by Darth_Koont |
No, it was a vote on AV which is a poor version. |
Ah, thanks | |
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| Majority my... on 10:13 - Dec 17 with 662 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Majority my... on 10:10 - Dec 17 by chicoazul |
Ah, thanks |
I should have been clearer in my original post, sorry. [Post edited 17 Dec 2019 10:13]
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