I have a postal vote and have already used it. I voted No.
Not long ago this would have surprised me. I'm all for egalitarianism and believe that a true democratic system should reflect all points of view, even those I find repugnant (anyone reading the About Me sidebar can guess what they are). However, after some thought and some reading about the issues, I changed my mind. I now believe that AV is an unsuitable method to create an effective and decisive parliament. A government created with the support of minority parties would be too compromised to govern effectively which would result in a weak vacillating government.
So that's why.
At the same time as I voted No, I also for voted in the local council elections. As a socialist, it doesn't take much working out which way I voted.
That's right. I voted Conservative.
And I voted Conservative for the same reason that I would support the AV system for local elections.
Sunderland is massively dominated by Labour who have a huge majority every time which marginalises the opposition. I believe that to be effective, a council needs a strong opposition to keep it on its toes. An AV system would massively increase the size of the opposition which can only be a good thing.
Of course it could also lead to the same situation I complained that a national government would find itself it. However, on a local level that isn't a bad idea. I'm very much in favour of a plurality of views at a local level because, on at that level, I don't believe there is such a diametric divergence of views between the parties as the focus is a relatively narrow one.
At the very least it would mean I could vote Labour again with a clear conscience.
No comments:
Post a Comment