- Let’s be honest. There’s a clear link with Islam (£) by David Aaronovitch, The Times
- Intellectual property is an innovation killer by Joshua Lachkovic , KernalMag
- Dumb Idea Hall of Fame by Aaron David Miller, Foreign Policy
- Nadine Dorries threatens Cameron's Party Leadership by Nadine Dorries, Daily Mail
- Boris set for party leadership? by Traci Watson, USAToday
- Anti-Israel students deface Star of David at student conference by Jonny Paul, Jerusalem Post
- Jihadist Videos on University Facebook by Rupert Sutton, Huffington Post UK
- Skintland: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose by Alex Massie, Spectator UK
- Green tax on conservatories by James Slack and Tamara Cohen, Daily Mail
- Saudi princess: What I'd change about my country by Staff writers, BBC
We don't need celebrity clowning to help us choose our electoral system
Liberal-left luvvies are out in force to change Britain's electoral system to AV. But the current system is fine whatever Eddie Izzard thinks
Forget the Olympics. Forget the Royal Wedding. Forget about the Russians buying the World Cup. Just look over there! A cross-dressing comedian, a couple of TV presenters and some actors are shouting about DEMOCRACY!
Even if you don’t know what they’re on about, you must recognise their faces. One of them used to be an athlete before embarking on a TV career that took him to the dizzying heights of Gladiators and Through the Keyhole.
Look, that other one made a career out of playing slightly hapless nice guys in British rom-coms, before achieving Oscar success from his latest endeavour.
And isn’t that the face of Twinings Tea? You know, the one who tweets a lot? Having trouble placing the man in a dress? Just cast your mind back to the “Yes to the Euro” campaigns of times gone by. Don’t forget that little chap in the corner. Why, it’s Tony Robinson! Best loved for his portrayal of that stupid, unwashed dogsbody in Time Team.
Yes, you’ve got it. The ‘celebs’have organised themselves around the greatest democratic cause of our generation. I am of course talking about the campaign to mess around with the way we vote for MPs. What did you think I meant? The battle for freedom in the Maghreb? Don’t be daft. That’s not worth getting out of bed for.
“Democracy itself is at stake,” we’re told. “We need to send a message to our MPs,” they tell us. (When was the last time Stephen Fry tried to get a response from his MP about a neighbour’s encroaching hedge?) Frankly, if the advancement of democracy is such a concern to these people, why don’t they head to Egypt and lead a breakout session on progressive politics?
It is of course remarkably easy to associate yourself with a soft-left, positively positioned and supposedly “non party political” campaign such as Yes2AV. (Sorry, I mean “Yes to Fairer Votes” as they insist upon calling themselves. On that note, couldn’t we, the other lot, call ourselves “No to Watered-Down Votes?”)
All of the ‘celebs’in question have lent either their voice or their image to the YES campaign. Colin Firth thinks the current voting system is “clapped out.”
Eddie Izzard, demonstrating why he is the Left’s luvvie of choice, thinks that First Past the Post is “regressive.” Fancy that! Continuing with a voting system that neatly tells each citizen that they are of equal value in a democracy is regressive! Lefties love this word, because if you’re not fully in agreement with their definition of things, then you’re the roadblock to the future! The antidote to progress!
Let’s imagine how it would have gone down if Chris Akabusi, upon winning gold in the 400 metre hurdles at the 1990 European Championships, had been informed that because the old system was deemed too regressive, the chap who came in two places behind him would in fact be given the top spot on the podium.
Frankly, parading a bunch of celebrities in front of the electorate and saying “you want to be like them, don’t you?” is a pretty desperate way to go about getting a message across.
Furthermore, the British people are perfectly capable of making up their own minds on this issue – and that includes deciding whether or not to give a damn about it.
Christian May is a political consultant with Media Intelligence Partners Ltd, where he specialises in foreign affairs and international consultancy. He writes for The Commentator in a personal capacity
Print
Tim
You neatly sum up the problem that we actually face which is that the voting system we have or may have is irrelevant its the fact the we don't have a vote at all for what we think we have. You are voting for a candidate to represent your constituency when in fact most of us would rather prefer to actually vote for a government that we want.
Until we directly elect our government and do away with this old 18th century "rotten" borough system we will never have democracy no matter which voting system we use
@ Tim
Your vote is counted as an equal. Simple as that.
If it turns out more people vote for someone else, so be it.
Tee Hee. Keep it up Christian May please.!! These folks backing the Yes vote are exactly what led me to vote NO.
"He writes for The Commentator in a personal capacity."
Been disowned - for the lack of fresh ideas?
What annoys me is that AV asks you to cast your votes according to your preference, and then counts them in the order of preference, but ends up valuing some voters second and third preference votes with equal weight and value as a first preference vote in the final round count, whereas some other voter's second and third and subsequent preference votes will not be counted at all.
Will people stop using this stupid race/ sports analogy for first past the post v AV- it is disingenuous to say AV is the same as letting a third place runner actually win gold. Such a comment simply displays that the commentator either doesn't understand AV (which is surprising given its not that complex, Aussies manage with it!) or is trying to mislead his/ her audience.
PS I am undecided so far but have to say the negative and fear mongering No campaign (It was nauseous they tried to exploit soldiers and sick children to push their point) is driving me to vote yes - which is silly of course of aciton but there you are.
@Tim, if you are in a safe seat AV will not help in the slightest, As the first vote will garner more than 50% of the vote sending that MP to the trough. The only time it may throw a spanner in the works is with a really low turn out (hence why Australia has a compulsory voting system).
Yes2AV are lying to you if you believe that this will change safe seats, it will make no difference, it will just give Liberals more chance in highly contested 3 way seats.
@Sres It's compulsory only to the extent that registered voters are required to have their attendance at a registered polling station recorded prior to, or on the day of, the relevant (Federal) election.
Australia's preferential voting system has been a great success. The current prime minister – whose party received a lower proportion of primary votes than the opposition coalition – retained power by offering colossal bribes to the Greens, and other congenital idiots, during the post-election horse-trading.
@DucdeBlangis I assume you're tongue in cheek there with the horse trading.
I'm sure the MSM will be loving the idea of AV, they had kittens with all the wrangling that was going on when the coalition was created, I'm sure they'll get thousands of air minutes of journalists stood on street corners waiting for tid-bits of information.
Hopefully AV will be crushed as it should be.
Actors should shut up and act, singers should shut up and sing. Morons like Eddie Izzard, Tony Robinson and Stephen Fry should just shut up altogether.
Here in Australia we have a version of AV called 'preferential voting' or some such s**t.With it you get one vote but if the bloke you vote for doesn't get enough votes your vote is then passed on to someone else a stitch up by the main partys' ... democratic? NOT !
If AV had any answers to the democracy deficit in the UK there is no way we would be getting a referendum on it.
We have an elected dictatorship at present. not ideal as millions of voters are disenfranchised from any representation in Parliamnet - AV will allow the likes of that political & intellectual pygmy Clegg to be a king maker for ever & ever.
PR is the only measure of a democracy - oh, & giving referendums to the people when they have been promised, eh Dave?
I vote for a party and not for a candidte. PR is my perferred manner of voting because this will allow a few cranky parties, like the Greens, the Looneys, the BNP, UKIP,etc. to poke the others to wake up to what the common people are saying. It should be noted that AV election is still "first passed the post", if the candidate gets more than 50% of the votes. If not, it becomes a "hung seat" and only then are the second and third preferences added to ensure a candidte gets the 50% support needed to be elected. Both PR and AV would lead to more democratic voter participation.
I struggle to see how PV/AV can be regarded as more 'democratic' than 'first past the post'. From a philosophical perspective, PV/AV systems are based on the absurd assumption that for each voter, each candidate has a positive value as an elected representative. Who on earth believes that? Do the luvvies attribute positive worth to BNP and UKIP candidates?
Sorry, I intended to write PR/AV above. I must have plurality voting on my mind ...
Sorry, I should have written PR/AV above. I have plurality voting on the brain ...
AV is just another step toward turning the UK into "Mickey Mouse Land". Britain does not have much further to go. As an ex Citizen I entertain my new neighbors by informing them of the latest nonsense emanating from the UK and Europe. It strengthens their resolve to ensure that my adopted country does not decline into the cesspit that is now the UK
Plato defined actors and their ilk as those who occupy a world of fiction detached from truth. I don't mind celebs who are politically rational particularly those who take a libertine or conservative stance on issues. At least they are not afraid to go against the grain of the all too predictable, synthetic liberal stance performed by Chardonnay lefties such as Izzard and Fry et all. Their leftism is nothing more than a herd mentality fashion accessory.
A delightfully bonkers piece as the NO AV bunch are using celebs too! James Cracknell, Darren Gough amongst many others, including the first woman licensed boxer in Britain!!!!
Apart from roping in some ropey old celebrities to support their campaign, I don't think the anti AV lobby have much to worry about, after all, have you noticed how many crusades Eddie Izzard (as a for instance) has lent his name to - the Euro, the Labour Party, turning tin cans into aeroplanes - most of which have invariably led to a contrary outcome. They should ditch him immediately!
Wasn't aware that the value of my vote in a Labour stronghold was the same as in a 3-way marginal, thanks for telling me that though. It will cheer me up when they have another 10,000 majority.