Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Keeping things in proportion
Interesting editorial in the Western Mail this morning highlighting the plethora of coalitions that are forming in local Councils all over Wales:
Here is a huge irony in the fact that, despite Welsh Labour’s massive opposition to the introduction of proportional representation (PR) in local government, coalition politics is now predominant in Wales.
Since the council elections earlier this month, just four of our 22 local authorities are controlled by single parties – Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Monmouthshire and Vale of Glamorgan. Elsewhere, political groups – if they exist at all – have been forced to negotiate with others before new arrangements for running councils can be agreed. In every case, of course, the outcome has followed a “first past the post” election.
There are two ways of viewing what has happened. One is that the longstanding Liberal Democrat (and going back further, Liberal) argument that “fair” (that is, proportional) outcomes can only be achieved by introducing a PR voting system has been blown out of the water. Alternatively, it could be argued that one of the strongest objections to PR – that it would lead to no overall control – is itself redundant.
Of course, achieving a position where there is no overall control does not necessarily stem from a situation where a party’s seats are proportionate to its overall vote. And, as results from the past amply demonstrate, “first past the post” elections can end in a big majority for a party that, in terms of its proportion of the votes, it has not deserved.
Nevertheless, those who savour such things from a psephological point of view can be well pleased with this month’s results, which so defied conventional wisdom.
I will be bringing my legislative competence order to the Assembly on 11 June, in which I will be seeking powers for the Assembly to be able to change the electoral arrangements of local Councils. We will see whether the outcome of this month's elections has helped to persuade AMs to support it or not.
Here is a huge irony in the fact that, despite Welsh Labour’s massive opposition to the introduction of proportional representation (PR) in local government, coalition politics is now predominant in Wales.
Since the council elections earlier this month, just four of our 22 local authorities are controlled by single parties – Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Monmouthshire and Vale of Glamorgan. Elsewhere, political groups – if they exist at all – have been forced to negotiate with others before new arrangements for running councils can be agreed. In every case, of course, the outcome has followed a “first past the post” election.
There are two ways of viewing what has happened. One is that the longstanding Liberal Democrat (and going back further, Liberal) argument that “fair” (that is, proportional) outcomes can only be achieved by introducing a PR voting system has been blown out of the water. Alternatively, it could be argued that one of the strongest objections to PR – that it would lead to no overall control – is itself redundant.
Of course, achieving a position where there is no overall control does not necessarily stem from a situation where a party’s seats are proportionate to its overall vote. And, as results from the past amply demonstrate, “first past the post” elections can end in a big majority for a party that, in terms of its proportion of the votes, it has not deserved.
Nevertheless, those who savour such things from a psephological point of view can be well pleased with this month’s results, which so defied conventional wisdom.
I will be bringing my legislative competence order to the Assembly on 11 June, in which I will be seeking powers for the Assembly to be able to change the electoral arrangements of local Councils. We will see whether the outcome of this month's elections has helped to persuade AMs to support it or not.
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Good luck with it Peter. I think that the LDs rally need to sharpen up opposition to/criticism of the current system which, in its way, is as grotesque a distortion of voters' will as what occurs in Zimbabwe. All this talk of a huge Tory landslide if they can score a massive, err 42% of votes!
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