Make STV an issue of the Lib Dem leadership election


Unless you are known publicly as a member of another party, will you please ask the two contenders for the Liberal Democrat leadership - Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne - for their views on electoral reform and urge them to confirm their support for the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies, which is currently the party's policy? Please do this, especially if you are a Liberal Democrat. While they are seeking party members' votes is the time to pin them down on this subject. Ballot papers will be issued on 21 November, so it would be best to write before then.
It is easy to take Liberal Democrat support for STV for granted and concentrate on the Labour and Conservative parties but, if the Lib Dems don't hold out for STV, we can hardly expect either of the other parties to support it. Should there be a balanced or hung parliament after the next general election, they would probably seek negotiations with the Lib Dems who may well be tempted to co-operate with one of them in return for a commitment to Lib Dem policies on a few other issues instead of electoral reform.

That would waste a great opportunity, so we should urge the new Lib Dem leader to press hard for electoral reform and specifically for STV. Even if they are unable to achieve STV in this scenario, they will, by pressing for it, at least increase their chances of making a step towards it. They cannot expect to secure STV unless they negotiate for it. Remember, it was pressure from the Lib Dems in Scotland that ensured STV was used in Scottish local elections earlier this year.

The argument for STV from a Lib Dem viewpoint is that, of all voting systems, only STV is really liberal and democratic. STV is liberal because it can offer voters a genuine choice of candidates within, across and outside parties. It is democratic because it can provide proportionality not only between parties but also between views within parties and between any other groupings that matter to voters. It is the only PR system that increases voters', rather than, parties' power.

Other issues - NHS, defence, housing, education, pensions and any number of other subjects - may seem more important than STV but they are less urgent; until we have a parliament elected by a truly democratic method that positively engages all voters, we shan't have one that represents our views accurately on those issues.

Although I hope I have given you some ideas, please write in your own words and, if it is appropriate, please indicate that your vote in the leadership election depends on the reply you receive.

Thank you for your help.

The contenders' addresses are

Nick Clegg MP
6th Floor, Queen Anne’s Business Centre,
28 Broadway,
London SW1H 9XJ
e-mail: supporters@nickclegg.com

Chris Huhne MP
Elliot House,
10-12 Allington Street,
London SW1E 5EH
e-mail: chris@chris2win.org

Make Votes Count


Make Votes Count issued a very informative Campaign Update on 29 October. If you have not already received it, I recommend you to ask Malcolm Clark - malcolm@makevotescount.org.uk - to add your name to the distribution list.