Call this a Polar Vortex Contingency EC Lesson -- With the temp currently -3, 3 bonus points available for anyone that posts thoughts here today on the UK AV referendum in 2011.
In just the second UK-wide referendum in history over the Alternative Vote, the UK voted overwhelmingly in May, 2011 to reject changing the way MPs are elected - dealing a bitter blow to Nick Clegg on top of heavy Lib Dem poll losses. It was clear British voters chose to ignore process, wanting the government to focus on progress. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and the Lib-Dems the strong supporters of electoral reform, also felt his side felt the wrath of voters' backlash of austerity measures. The BBC reported:
Officials say 19.1m people voted in the second UK-wide referendum in history - a higher than expected turnout of 41%.
The final result put the Yes vote at 32.1% and the No vote at 67.9%.
It comes as the Lib Dems suffered a rout in English local elections - and the SNP scored an historic victory in the Scottish Parliament poll.
A debate that was often about the complexity of electoral systems ended in the simplest of results.
The No campaign won, overwhelmingly.
The rush to attribute blame, or grab the credit for that result, begins here.
Those who favoured the Yes campaign will argue they were defeated by the Prime Minister's campaigning power, a largely hostile press and a tough opposing campaign.
Those who backed a No vote will say they won the argument for the merits of the status quo, and persuaded people the alternative vote was complex and unnecessary.
The voters, of course, needed only to mark crosses on ballot papers. They did not have to explain their reasoning.
So campaigners who devoted months of their lives to this argument will never know what difference, if any, they made to the result.
Read Ross's thoughts in full
Bitter blow for Clegg, Lib-Dems
9 comments:
I think changing to the AV system could be really beneficial in getting new authority into power in the UK. However, obviously many do not support it because it could potentially change current UK politics and it's government. The AV system appeals to me more because not only is it a majority choice and there will be a reduction in safe seats, there will be fewer wasted votes which could motivate more people to get involved and actually go out and vote. The MP's will also have to work harder as they need to increase the number of votes to win by almost 20%. I think the AV system will change the way UK politics currently works but I strongly believe it'll be for the better.
I completely agree with Katyayni. I think that the Alternative Voting system definitely has the potential to be helpful in improving the election process in the UK. In my opinion, one of the best parts of the AV system is that the candidate has to get at least 50%. This is very different than the first past the post because you can be a candidate first past the post with 20% of the vote. Obviously not a clear majority. But, the AV system provides the requirement of the majority vote. In addition, the AV system decreases the amount of safe seats, and adds marginal seats. This also helps make each individuals vote matter a little bit more. Though the vast majority of the seats are still safe, it is at least a small improvement. Although this does not solve the real problem of there being only one MP per constituency, it is one step towards a more free and fair election process.
While I don't neccessarily agree with the UK's government policies, my oppinion on them is pretty irrelevant. I don't live there and I don't plan on living there, so I think the citizens know what they want when they shot the referendum down.
(I know this was supposed to be yesterday but I still want to give my 2 cents)
Brendan,
As an AP scholar in Comparative Government & Politics, your analysis of the election system in the UK IS relevant. What you all should note is that the UK DOES have national referenda.
Single member First Past the Post districts with "safe districts" work against third-parties.
This is a similarity to the US system.
A difference is the UK constituencies are not divided by an equal number of citizens. US congressional districts reapportioned every 10 years after the census.
The Alternative Voting system seems like a somewhat marginal change because the vast majority of districts are still "safe seats." The British people are stuck in their ways if they wouldn't change their election system, because it is currently awful. So many people aren't being accurately represented, and some people's votes are more influential than others. Maybe one day they will a better system, but it probably won't be for a while because their political system changes very GRADUALLY.
I think it is interesting how much of a majority voted against it. I think this could be a really good change for them, but I think they could be against it because the UK is so pro-gradualism that they will generally choose to stay with what they know. In order for reform to happen, it might be necessary to make smaller changes, but I think trying to find reform is a great thing.
The AV system seems to help eliminate the problem of having members elected without the majority. This system is much more fair than first past the post, because the member that is elected in the plurality system may not be elected with the AV system, which would probably make the people happier. But the UK is slow to accept change, and frankly I don't think they care that much how their members are elected as long as they are not personally affected. It surprised me that the vote was so lopsided towards no, but eventually the UK will realize that they need to actually change their system in order to see new results.
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