The Case for Electoral Reform

Half of Westminster seats have not changed hands since 1970.
That's right HALF of all the seats at the Mother of Parliaments have not changed hands for 40 years.

So if you first voted on your eighteenth birthday in June 1970, the chances are that as you approach retirement by the time of the next general election your voice has only ever had a fifty-fifty chance of getting heard.

One of the cornerstones of politics is the ability for the electorate to dismiss their representatives. However, if the seats do not change their political colour then you might as well be whistling in the wind.
To make you more depressed if you go back to 1945 that figure is still almost a third (29%).
Clearly this is an unhealthy state of affairs, and the sooner we get electoral reform the better.

My preferred option is STV (single transferable vote) in multi-member constituencies, as they have in Ireland. I have never understood the argument that this would remove the link between the MP and their constituency, this doesn't happen at local government level where you invariably have three councillors representing a ward, no-one says that the link between councillors and their wards is non-existent.

I am as much a councillor for West End ward on the Town council, and for Calder ward on the borough council.

Electoral Reform, you know it makes sense!