Tuesday, November 03, 2009
General Election campaign kicks off
I read a comment somewhere that the joint attack by the Welsh First Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales in this morning's Western Mail counts as the official start of the General Election campaign here.
The two alleged that Tory plans to slash the number of MPs by 10% would have a catastrophic impact on Wales leading to massive constituencies and fewer AMs. Actually I am not sure that the latter charge is true as the reduction in the number of Scottish MPs did not lead to a commensurate reduction in the quantum of MSPs.
Nevertheless, the charge by Rhodri Morgan and Peter Hain has merit, though good luck with persuading people that cutting the number of politicians is a bad thing. This is because Cameron's proposals are half-hearted and ill-thought through.
The Liberal Democrats also want to cut the number of MPs but they are proposing to do so in the context of giving the Welsh Assembly full law making powers (with the possibility of more AMs) and the introduction of the single transferable vote system in multi-member constituencies as a means of electing our MPs (and AMs).
That would be a real reform ensuring better accountability, a fairer outcome to elections and better value for money. What a shame that neither Labour nor Conservatives are prepared to be really radical about this issue.
The two alleged that Tory plans to slash the number of MPs by 10% would have a catastrophic impact on Wales leading to massive constituencies and fewer AMs. Actually I am not sure that the latter charge is true as the reduction in the number of Scottish MPs did not lead to a commensurate reduction in the quantum of MSPs.
Nevertheless, the charge by Rhodri Morgan and Peter Hain has merit, though good luck with persuading people that cutting the number of politicians is a bad thing. This is because Cameron's proposals are half-hearted and ill-thought through.
The Liberal Democrats also want to cut the number of MPs but they are proposing to do so in the context of giving the Welsh Assembly full law making powers (with the possibility of more AMs) and the introduction of the single transferable vote system in multi-member constituencies as a means of electing our MPs (and AMs).
That would be a real reform ensuring better accountability, a fairer outcome to elections and better value for money. What a shame that neither Labour nor Conservatives are prepared to be really radical about this issue.
Comments:
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For once, you've got it right here. Reduced MPs for Wales would be acceptable if law-making powers were conferred on Wales and a fairer voting system.
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# posted by 
: 5:07 PM
: 5:07 PM
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