You know when your finish an article in a paper or periodical and say to yourself “I wish I’d written that”. I wish I’d written this - the best critique of the “power inquiry” I have read so far.
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I see that Peter Hain is to make a speech today that has been trailed in the Independent. First of all he’ll praise the power inquiry (!) and secondly he will call for a new constitutional settlement ‘including MPs to be elected by the Australian alternative vote system so they command majority support in their constituencies after second preference votes’.
What do you make of it?
Peter has a long and well known belief in the AV system of voting. I disagree with him on that. The irony of AV is that it is the least proportional system on offer. Leave things as they are I say. All credit to Peter for sticking consistantly to his position though. It would have been easier for him to waver to the ridiculous Jenkins system.
As for the power inquiry, I don’t know what Peter will say but there does need to be a new constitutional settlement. There’s a lot of unfinished business - no matter where you are on the reform spectrum. The remaining hereditary peers for example. We should tidy up the edges of constitutional reform before considering more adventurous policies.
Tom, I agree: constitutional settlement - ok. A hard look at what we want/expect MPs to do (not the same as should/ought/can) - ok. But, I’m with you on the original post that Hamer has got it spot on about the Power Inquiry.
This is crass populism but with a website…And, given that, at least I can post this - or in Baroness Kennedy’s words, “Make It An Issue”, because my Nan isn’t plugged in to the Power Inquiry’s email update….
You know I was very uncritical of the Power Inquiry when it was gathering information. It invited a women’s organisation of which I am a member to hold “dinner parties” or other social gatherings where the issue of what would encourage people to use their vote could be discussed. Before talking to anyone I asked them to send me “the pack”. It never arrived. I don’t think I passed the test. In any event I then spoke to one of my son’s about it and he left me in no doubt it was a middle class activity, ignoring the socially excluded etc etc. I guess he was right. Linda Halliwell
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