Our voting system needs to change

WITH leadership of the Lib Dems looming, there is a tendency to look for reasons more people do not support the Lib Dems.

In reality, the support for the Lib Dems is doing rather well.

Membership of the Lib Dems has soared to over 100,000 and at the last general election their votes increased by over one million.

They recorded 3.6 million votes, which is 11.6 per cent of total votes. These 11 MPs represent just 1.7 per cent of the total 650 MPs in the House of Commons.

11.6 per cent of the 650 seats available would be 75 MPs. That is what the people voted for. But we have a voting system that distorts the result of the votes. The SNP, with just 1.2 million votes, has 48 MPs, against the Lib Dems’ 3.6 million votes and 11 MPs. It took just 26,000 votes to elect an SNP MP, but 336,000 to elect a Lib Dem MP.

It is a scandal that calls into question our democracy. How can the House of Commons speak for the people if the make-up of the House of Commons does not reflect the way the people voted?

If Jack Leslie or anyone else fits into either of those definitions then go ahead and refer to him as a hero and erect a statue in his memory. If not, then please do not belittle the true meaning of someone being a hero.