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Author Archives: Stephen Shellard
6 Months in West Berlin
It was in January 1983 that I set out on my adventure into West Berlin. Margaret Thatcher had recently won the Falklands war; the British Labour Party was shortly to suffer one of its greatest electoral defeats in post war … Continue reading
Should the House of Lords be abolished, become more democratic, or be kept as is?
The house of Lords should be reformed. It should not in my opinion however be elected. There are a number of reasons for this. If it were elected, there would be a danger that it would, probably at some moment … Continue reading
Posted in Misc, Other Constitutional discussion
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Nationalism and the Rise of the SNP
Alex Salmond has pulled off a remarkable coup by leading his party to an overall majority in the new Scottish Parliament. We are told that the Labour Party designed the electoral system for the Scottish Parliament specifically to avoid this … Continue reading
Referendums and Electoral Reform
The result of the referendum on the Alternative Vote did not come as a complete surprise to this blogger. The discussion was dominated by the conservatism of the Tory/Labour political establishment whose arguments were rhetorical rather than rational. The self … Continue reading
What if…The Alternative Vote and the Iraq War
Had the 1997 UK election taken place under AV, would the UK have joined the United States in their invasion of Iraq? This may seem an odd question, for the Labour majority in 1997 was so great that it is … Continue reading
Why you should vote for change on May 5th. The Argument for AV.
On BBC TV’s Question Time [Thursday 14th April] Michael Howard smugly declared that the Alternative Vote was “nobody’s first choice” . Given that his own party has set the agenda of the referendum on electoral reform which will take place … Continue reading
Integrating Alternative Vote into Reform of the House of Lords.
As an advocate of proportional representation I am a reluctant supporter of casting my vote in favour of AV – the Alternative Vote – at the forthcoming referendum. If the yes vote succeeds however, this “miserable little compromise” as Nick … Continue reading
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