Democracy is a precious thing
By Tim Archer
Events in Iran remind us how precious democracy is. Recognition of the result of an election and the orderly transition from one administration to another must surely be the acid test of any democracy. Recent events in domestic politics have caused many to question what our elected representatives have been doing for us.
And more still to question just what this government is doing to try to sort out this economic and moral mess.
At this time it seems an odd choice for Gordon Brown to appoint more and more non-elected members to his cabinet.
While members of the House of Lords have a vital role to play, I believe the Government should be made up of elected members.
This is the only way that our Government is truly accountable.
We need a General Election as soon as possible in order to restore faith in our democracy and our current system of first past the post is the best way of achieving that goal.
The benefit of our system is, unlike with proportional representation, there is a direct link between an elected member and the area they represent.
What we do need are better ways of holding the representative accountable - like the ability to recall an MP if they are failing to do their job.
People want a change in the people that represent them, not the way they are elected.
- Tim Archer is Conservative councillor, Blackwall & Cubitt Town Ward & prospective MP
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The sacred "direct link" with our MPs is much ballyhooed lately among critics of proportional voting.
The reality is that few of us could name our MP, and most of us will never meet one in our lives.
Most of us are "represented" by somebody we voted against, and most MPs "represent" mostly people who voted against them.
The idea that we have the power to hold our local member accountable and "throw the rascals out" is a cruel joke. Most of us live in safe districts and know who will be elected in our district before the votes are cast, whether we vote for them, or vote for somebody else, or don't bother to vote at all.
Almost all of us vote on the basis of which party we support or which leader we would like to see as PM. But we don't get to vote for these things under the antique first-past-the-post system.
We get to vote only for our local MP, who is increasingly irrelevant.
Never mind the fact that we usually have phony "majority" governments where one political party has ALL the power, even though most people voted against them.
Single-party "majority" government inevitably leads to arrogance and corruption, or haven't you noticed?
Proportional voting would give voters the power to hold politicians and political parties accountable, by giving every voter a vote that makes a difference, a vote that actually helps to elect somebody.
The end of phony majorities will make Government accountable to Parliament, the way it's supposed to be.