Last Saturday I demonstrated for change in the voting (& political) system. And I will be out again today. 2pm - Parliament Square. Be there.
More than a thousand people demonstrated for their belief in the need for
real political change (
watch BBC video). It was Saturday afternoon, and just the day before Parliament had been declared to be very beautifully hung. So beautifully so in fact, that the mathematics of it held the nation (& the politicians - yes, they
are different;) in suspense for several days. I had a recurring image of a ballet dancer's toe in pirouette -the balance so poised, when and where would it turn? Nick Clegg and the LibDem team were holed up in Transport House, wondering that to do with the crucial balance of power their 57 seats held. On Election Day, the electorate had spoken - but no one knew quite what they had said. So it was up to the great elected to work it out.
FYI: No Entry General PublicTo heckling for "Fair Votes Now", "don't sell out" and "we want to see Nick", Nick emerged...
"I never thought in my wildest imagination that central London would have a thousand protesters protesting for proportional representation. It's a topic which traditionally only concerned a small number of academics and constitutional experts, but the fact that you are here, out on the streets [...] is absolutely wonderful... " (
What Nick said: BBC video) Suddenly, PR was looking cool.
It's about fair votes, and everyone's vote counting Equally. It's about bringing our voting system out of the 19th & 20th Centuries where voting was largely along block Blue/Red lines and into the 21st century where Britain and the identities of people living here are more plural. Let me say it - it is not about doing away with these political stripes. It is not about party lines at all (quite the opposite!). It is about putting fairness, and the people, at the heart of the system.
A quick number crunch:
Lab: 33k votes/seat; Con: 35k/seat;
LibDem 120k/seat; Green: 285k/seat
Safe seats cover the country, and as such many of the constituency elections are a foregone conclusion. Sometimes governments even tweek the boundaries - just to make sure. The real balance of power is held in a small number of key marginals, and as the election approaches, the tribes are mobilised and politics becomes about getting past the post, gaining the seat, ascending to parliament and to power. That is the aim, and the manifestos and campaigns work towards that end.
This tribal political landscape sure does make election night is colourful though. We - the great electorate (those that haven't given up entirely at least) - approach election night in a spirit akin to the World Cup Final or Eurovision Song Contest. But the ritual sit-in with snacks, fizz and friends is the only thing I will miss when reform finally comes (and it will). I will not miss my mood sinking into the Kettle Chips and Rioja at 4am as again and again one Tribe triumphs and all others are thrown into dark abyss for another 5 years ("nil point").
I want to see more plural parliament, where individual politicians don't have to button their mouths and personal values/politics to follow the party line. Where more views can be represented, and where there is less corruption. And I want my vote to have the power of 1, not 0.067 (try it -
Power Voter Index).
I voted in 3-striped pyjamas this time. I surprised even myself on this count. One colour for national; another for Hackney Mayor; and yet another for the local council. And yet this weighted voting cannot be expressed in a parliamentary election. We cannot vote intelligently, with how we really feel and think.
A tiny reading list:
* work in progress
