Yes to AV, Yes to Equal Consituencies, but not like this.

Ralph Ferrett

29 July 2010

(This blog is reproduced from www.lunchtimelegend.co.uk )

I am a long standing and passionate supporter of electoral reform. I feel that our current system of voting is manifestly unfair and skews our public policy agenda in favour of the few and not the many. The alternative vote is far from perfect, it isn’t the system I would chose but it is better than the status quo.

So I was delighted when the Labour promised to back AV in the manifesto. And whilst I was devastated to see the Tories back in power a small crumb of comfort for me was that part of the coalition agreement would deliver a referendum on electoral reform that I hoped would make our politics better.

I also support, in principle, the idea of equal sized constituencies. It is clearly inarguable that in a democracy this is a desirable, and necessary thing. It has long been a tenet of progressive and left wing politics, dating back to the chartists, that we should have equal sized constituencies.

But the problem for me is the basis on which the Condems are trying to introduce the equal sized constituencies; namely that of the existing electoral roll. The problem with this is that there are millions of eligible voters not currently on the electoral register.

People not on the electoral register are disproportionately the poor, the young and those form ethnic minorities. It will be fundamentally and in principal wrong to draw new constituencies without first making real efforts to get these people onto the roll.

Or better still if we are going to move to equal size constituencies lets base them on numbers of people eligible to register to vote. This would be fairer, and more democratic, and it would also make it impossible for the wreckers in both Labour and the Tory parties to oppose constitutional reform.

The Tories have obviously set Labour a trap here and it is necessary to act wisely and cautiously. By tying the AV referendum (something that is a Labour manifesto pledge) to boundary reform that Labour can never accept they are putting Labour into a difficult position.

For me the sensible course of action would be to make it clear that Labour will offer full support to the bill on the proviso that the basis of equal sized constituencies is changed to those eligible to register. This would put the ball back in the Governments court and it would be them, rather than us who seem unreasonable.

So in short Yes to AV, Yes to equal constituencies, no to the dishonest way the government are basing the boundary reviews.

Ralph FerrettPlymouth and East Cornwall

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