Proportional representation

  • Proportional Representation Is Back on the Agenda but Which Kind?

    Proportional Representation Is Back on the Agenda but Which Kind?

    When arguing for proportional representation in a country where voters have become used to first past the post, we hit the problem that voters expect their MP to be a good constituency MP, that is a kind of social worker who will sort out their problems if they’re unfairly treated by the state. Proportional representation can’t happen when you have seats returning one representative. Hence, under proportional representation, voters don’t get a single representative dependent exclusively on their votes – except with Additional Member Proportional, the system used in London and Scotland, they can. In London, the Assembly has 25…

  • The Scottish Parliament Election

    The Scottish Parliament Election

    The recent elections to the Scottish Parliament saw an increase from 4 to 10 Liberal Democrat MSPs at Holyrood, compared to 58 for the SNP, 17 each for Labour and Reform, 15 Greens and 12 Conservatives. Now the sixth largest party in the Scottish Parliament, the Liberal Democrats have fallen from 17 MSPs in the first Parliament in 1999, when they entered a coalition to form the first devolved government with Labour 27 years ago. In the following two elections the Lib Dems only lost one seat. The party has celebrated this recent result as a great success, but what…