Our voting system is well past sell-by date
FOR the sake of our country and for all of us who live here, we need to reverse the legacy of successive Tory governments which have led to a disintegration of essential services and infrastructure, a carbon footprint far greater than it should be and a dramatic increase in financial inequality.
In this year when it appears that about 50% of the nations in the world are going to the polls, it seems a good time to reflect and compare our own voting system with those of others.
Our antiquated first-past-thepost system is no longer fit for purpose and contributes to some people feeling there is no point in voting.
We need to move to a system of proportional representation in line with the majority of other western democracies.
A Labour Party member and friend of mine summed up Labour’s plan of action if they form our next government: to invest in people; in society; in the environment.
I have no disagreement with this but there is another party who also has a vision of what a better UK would look like and makes a point about the need to understand the interconnectedness of social policy with environmental policy, and has the sort of economic policies that will work.
That is the Green Party, whose policies have extensive and growing support throughout the UK.
We have had a shining example in Caroline Lucas of what a Green Party MP can look like, and the contribution they can make.
At election time we are often urged not to “split the vote”.
My call is vote with your conscience, find out what your chosen prospective candidate’s views are about our voting system, and whether this person, if elected, will commit to campaigning for electoral reform.
Penny King via email