Tag Archives: "Political Parties"

Unclubbable

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Stephen Shellard

Political Parties.  Why we need more of them—But not too many! There was a time when, despite my coming of age journey in the 1960s through the First Newry cubs, boy scouts and senior scouts, I  considered myself an unquenchable … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Electoral Reform, Other Constitutional discussion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunlit uplands: a vision for the renewal of electoral and party politics

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Stephen Shellard

The UK parliament: the journey to a universal adult right to vote; a critique of the electoral and party system; the first draft of a reform proposal. Main article, approx 4300 words. It is a relatively recent idea that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Other Constitutional discussion | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Many Political Parties do we Really Need?

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Stephen Shellard

“One of the few advantages of the First Past the Post [FPTP] electoral system is that it simplifies the choices set before the electorate by the rather brutal device of limiting the number of parties which have any meaningful chance of winning seats. A proportional system inevitably brings more marginal parties into contention for seats and so has the opposite tendency. ” Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Electoral Reform | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments