On May 5th, the British electorate have the opportunity to vote for change. Switching from first-past-the-post to the alternative vote would not be an enormous change, but it would be change for the better. It would make more people's votes count for something, and perhaps encourage a more impressive turn-out than has been seen in recent times.
Of course, it won't happen, because the media are being fed a load of absolute rot by the vociferous 'No' campaign, who love the status quo and are terrified of losing their tenuous grip on power.
Leader of this movement, Prime Minister Dilbert Macaroon, says the alternative vote system is 'undemocratic'. His own party's hereditary peers are elected using the system.
Prime Minister Macaroon says the alternative vote system will mean votes for the BNP are more important than those of mainstream parties. His sidekick Baroness Warsi - who has NEVER won an election, yet is a government minister - claims the same. Yet not only is that argument false, the BNP actually oppose AV and want to keep the first-past-the-post system.
Prime Minister Macaroon says the alternative vote system is 'so obscure it is only used by three countries in the world.' Ignoring its selectivity, if that logic was the one to follow, he should argue that abandoning democracy altogether was a perfectly sensible thing to do, given how many countries don't have it.
Prime Minister Macaroon then concludes with a preposterous and wholly inaccurate 100m analogy. If his speech-writers weren't so smugly stupid, they'd have realised that politicians are not like sprinters in any way, but in fact are the equivalent of synchronized swimmers, prancing and preening and showing off their teeth to an array of judges who have to make a decision on who they like the most.
All-in-all, his arguments against the system don't stand up to the slightest scrutiny, and are the miserable bleatings of a spoilt boy who has been told to share his sweets with the rest of the class.
Of course he wants first-past-the-post to remain. Why would Macaroon want to change a voting system that enabled him, one of the least popular Tory leaders in British electoral history, to become prime minister?
If you are a charismatic politician who sways the public with the strength of your arguments, you will get voted in by AV. If you are an empty-headed twerp whose lack of substance means that only a small proportion of the electorate support you, you won't. And only a fool would say that was unfair.
Of course, it won't happen, because the media are being fed a load of absolute rot by the vociferous 'No' campaign, who love the status quo and are terrified of losing their tenuous grip on power.
Leader of this movement, Prime Minister Dilbert Macaroon, says the alternative vote system is 'undemocratic'. His own party's hereditary peers are elected using the system.
Prime Minister Macaroon says the alternative vote system will mean votes for the BNP are more important than those of mainstream parties. His sidekick Baroness Warsi - who has NEVER won an election, yet is a government minister - claims the same. Yet not only is that argument false, the BNP actually oppose AV and want to keep the first-past-the-post system.
Prime Minister Macaroon says the alternative vote system is 'so obscure it is only used by three countries in the world.' Ignoring its selectivity, if that logic was the one to follow, he should argue that abandoning democracy altogether was a perfectly sensible thing to do, given how many countries don't have it.
Prime Minister Macaroon then concludes with a preposterous and wholly inaccurate 100m analogy. If his speech-writers weren't so smugly stupid, they'd have realised that politicians are not like sprinters in any way, but in fact are the equivalent of synchronized swimmers, prancing and preening and showing off their teeth to an array of judges who have to make a decision on who they like the most.
All-in-all, his arguments against the system don't stand up to the slightest scrutiny, and are the miserable bleatings of a spoilt boy who has been told to share his sweets with the rest of the class.
Of course he wants first-past-the-post to remain. Why would Macaroon want to change a voting system that enabled him, one of the least popular Tory leaders in British electoral history, to become prime minister?
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| Diagram showing results of British general elections by percentage of vote, 1832-2010. Blue = Conservative; Yellow = Liberal/Liberal Democrat; Red = Labour; Grey = others. |
If you are a charismatic politician who sways the public with the strength of your arguments, you will get voted in by AV. If you are an empty-headed twerp whose lack of substance means that only a small proportion of the electorate support you, you won't. And only a fool would say that was unfair.
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