A Conservative MP complained in this morning's "Today" programme on BBC Radio 4 that a travel guide contradicted itself by stating that the "Thatcher regime" was unpopular and won general elections.  I don't want to take sides on whether it was a good or bad regime but it is true that it was unpopular and yet won general elections.  This is because of the voting system and I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the interviewer did not pick the point up.

David Davis (Conservative Shadow Home Secretary until now)  announced today that he will resign his Commons seat and fight the bye-election to oppose 42 days' detention without trial and other infringements of civil liberties. Nick Clegg announced the Liberal Democrats will not oppose him.

The headline story in today’s Daily Telegraph was about an allegation that the Labour Government is bribing voters by diverting taxpayers’ money from Conservative heartlands to Labour ones.  Whichever way you look at it, that is terrible.  If it is true, it is scandalous.  It is not very different from Zimbabwean soldiers and civil servants being told their jobs depend on Robert Mugabe’s remaining in power.  If it is untrue, it is one of the dirtiest of dirty tricks for a major newspaper to make such allegations.  Either way, it is unaccept

The Conservatives made a big song and dance today about the Labour Party’s allegedly broken promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty (Europoean Reform Treaty) .  I wonder why they have not complained at all about the Labour Party’s broken promise to hold a referendum on the way we elect MPs.  The Labour Party is embarrassed enough by the accusation to deny it hotly.  They say their promise was to ho

Today is the 75^th anniversary of the Nazis’ election victory under Hitler, except that it was not an outright victory.  As they obtained only 44% of the votes, the proportional voting system gave them fewer than half the seats in the German parliament and they did not obtain total power until they seized it later by violence.

Peter Facey of Unlock Democracy has made a very valid point on the Our Kingdom website:

If you are a member of the Consumers' Association which publishes "Which?", you have probably just received your voting papers for the Association's Council.  Although you have up to four votes, please remember that, if you use more than one of them, you will be giving one vote to the candidate you most want to win and the rest of your votes against your favourite.  This is because of the voting system the Association uses.

STV News 07/15 contains the views of the two Lib Dem leadership candidates on STV.  It is essential reading for all STV supporters who are also Lib Dem members.  In addition, it contains news of a new petition for STV and of the Government’s proposed constitutional review.

David Cameron has proposed that local Councils should be able to exceed the cap for Council Tax if they obtain local consent in a referendum.  It would be far more sensible to elect councils by STV.

The BBC has reported that the Equalities Secretary, Harriet Harman, is considering a change in the law to allow all-black short lists for parliamentary candidates to increase the number of black MPs.