Some good advice for Gordon Brown IT'S TIME TO PUSH FOR SOME GENUINE DEMOCRACY
Socialist Resistance in print2000sScanned print read by OCR, and not yet proofread: expect run-together words, dropped letters and, where a piece began partway down a page, a few lines of its neighbour. The printed page is the authority.
Last week, after much shenanigans, MPs debated House of Lords reform. Unsurprisingly they were overwhelmingly in favour of the continuation of a second chamber is some form or another.
Surprisingly, however, they voted by 337 to 224 in favour of a 100% elected second chamber. This rather historic vote, which is only indicative at this stage, would drag the House of Lords out of the feudal era and bring elected members into its chamber for the first time after 800 years of patronage, corruption and privilege.
The vote went far beyond the position argued for by Blair who, scandalously, wanted 50% elected and 50% appointed - in other words a guarantee that patronage and privilege would continue.
True, a few MPs voted for the 100% option in order to stir up an even more enraged reaction when the issue goes to the House of Lords itself for debate.
There was nevertheless a majority for the fully elected principle (and a slightly smaller majority for 80%) no doubt fuelled by the political damage being done by the cash for peerages issue (abolishing peerages would settle that one) and the increasing difficulty in defending feudal structures in the 21st century.
This is particularly difficult if you make a habit of invading other countries under the pretext of imposing "democracy" on them.
The glaring problem with radical change of this sort in the House of Lords is that it ignores the equally scandalous first-past-the-post system for the House of Commons - a situation which has an even greater effect on the governance of the country, since it involves the principal legislative body.
If there is to be a bit more democracy in the second chamber, let's have some in the first! Electoral reform in the Commons was one of New Labour's manifesto pledges in 1997 which was kicked into the long grass once they were in office and most likely to be re-elected under the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.
Gordon Brown said last year that he would welcome a wider debate on the issue of electoral reform in the Commons.
It was one of New Labour's manifesto pledges in 1997 which was kicked into the long grass once they were in office and most likely to be reelected under the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.
He was commenting on the publication of the report of the Power Commission Inquiry into Britain's undemocratic voting procedures, which has called for a shake up of the current system to prevent what it fears will be a meltdown in Britain's system of representation.
The current way of doing things, the Commission said was "killing politics" in Britain.
The Commission is right. Diminishing turnouts at elections are at least partially the result of this.
In Westminster elections most people's votes don't count (other than in marginal constituencies) and the outcome of the election is grossly undemocratic with the number of seats in Parliament for the various parties bearing little relation to the votes cast for those parties.
According to the Electoral Reform Society, in the general election last year 19 million • people cast ineffective votes -that is 70% of those who voted.
Most of these are the same people every time: i.e. Tory voters in strong Labour seats or vice-versa.
In the last general election Labour only managed 35.2% of the votes cast but were rewarded with 55.1% of the seats in Parliament. The Tories got 30.7% of the vote and 32.3% of the seats.
The Lib Dems got 22.1% of the vote and got just 9.6% of the seats.
Put another way it took 26000 votes to elect a Labour MP, 44000 to elect a Tory MP, and a huge 96000 to elect a Lib Dem MP - nearly four times as many as needed by Labour. Such a system is scandalous and indefensible.
The effects of this system on small parties is such that it is almost impossible them to win Westminster seat. Respect's victory in Bethnal Green and Bow is exceptional.
The Greens, who have been a significant force in British politics for thirty years, have never won a Westminster seat.
The FPTP designed to create and maintain a two party system and both main parties are wedded to it that reason. Even when it works against them they don't complain because they know that the time will come when it will swing back to their advantage.
The problem Brown will have when he takes over from Blair in the summer is that is gets more difficult defend this situation all the time.
It is already accepted that system of election which will be introduced into the House of Lords (if elected members are introduced) will have to be some form of PR.
Forms of PR already exist in the European elections as well for the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament. The which have just taker place in Northern Ireland were by PR. The local in Scotland in May will be by PR for the first time.
This only leaves the elections for Westminster and local authorities in England and Wales to be based on the old totally undemocratic SVSLCHL.
This gives Gordon Brown a great opportunity - should he choose to accept it. If he wants to make name for himself in his first 100 days, and ensure he leads a new Labour fourth term and be seen as "a great reforming Prime Minister", he should announce that he will not only follow through the result of last week's vote and introduce a 100 percent elected second chamber, but that he will propose PR for the House of Commons and for local elections in England and Wales as well.
It would be a sure election winner. Lib Dems and many others would vote for him in droves just to get rid of FPTP.
True Labour would not be able to take advantage of a corrupt voting system after that because PR would be there - but neither would the Tories.
But in any case he might reflect that Labour's chances of a fifth term are in any case slim. The economy could go pear-shaped and he could be out on his ear without making a name for himself.
This way he could make his name despite his reactionary neo-liberal economics and his foul record on the war and civil rights.
Will Gordon go for it?
₴W9} Trident vote will split Labour and rely on Tory support