PR voting could better reflect nation’s wishes

AN alternative solution to a national unity government in Westminster (which is being mooted to stop a nodeal Brexit) would be to get legislation through — and if it means another referendum, so be it — to see if the country wants to try proportional representation (PR) voting at the next general election.

In a proportional representation system, there is far more nuance: you vote for your candidates 1, 2, 3, 4 etc in order of preference.

A number one vote for a Tory can be transferred into a vote for a Brexiteer (your number two) if the Tory is eliminated in the first count.

More importantly, the Brexit Party wins (and feels the benefit) of your vote because you broadly agree with its philosophy ahead of that of the candidates you put 3rd, 4th and 5th.

After the count, the distribution of MPs elected would fairly reflect the distribution of the electorate’s preferences — and then coalitions can be formed if no single party has a majority.

The electorate can vote tactically with PR. In my view, the Greens would do very well in this system, as many would be happy to give them a number two vote.

However, whether it is a PR or first-past-the-post system, the most important question for the Conservatives is this: will they enter into a coalition with the Brexit Party to form a government and deliver Brexit?

And the most important question for Labour is: will they enter into a rainbow coalition with the Greens, Lib Dems and SNP to form a government and run a second referendum on Brexit while canvassing to remain?

ALISON HACKETT By email