This is going to be a bit off-topic but stick with me as given the circumstances I think it's relevant for this blog. That a party can get 23 per cent of the vote but only claim 9 per cent of the seats in parliament seems grossly unfair. As does the notion that another party can garner 36 per cent of votes, and see that translated into 46 per cent of seats. Yet, more or less, that's what our electoral system has delivered.
Despite David Cameron's felicitations to the Lib Dems this afternoon, the Tories aren't really interested in reforming the system as it would enormously reduce their position (as Menzies Campbell noted earlier, we've been here before), while Labour realised too late that it may have been the best chance of staying in power this time round. And aside from the democratic, constitutional and ethical issues, making the voting system fairer is a key part of the wide-ranging political reforms needed to reduce the influence of vested interests which are hampering the move to a low-carbon economy and lower emissions.
That's why Greenpeace is backing the Take Back Parliament campaign to make sure this golden opportunity to crack open our antiquated electoral system isn't lost and parliament can better reflect what people actually vote for, rather than a haphazard approximation. Demos are scheduled around the country tomorrow as whatever happens in the next 24 hours, we can't let the Lib Dems (and it rests with them) waver.
And with a fairer system of proportional representation, we can expect to see more progressive elements like the Green's Caroline Lucas (nice work, by the way!) claiming seats in Westminster.
