big day tomorrow…
If the latest polls are to be believed, the Labour Party looks set to return to government with a record number of 425 seats, a whopping majority of over 300 and unlimited power determined by 39% of the electorate. They won’t. It will be far tighter than that and I personally wouldn’t rule out some form of collaborative, coalition administration.
You all already know that I don’t believe the Tories deserve to win. That after fourteen years of misrule they are a corrupt, self-serving, spent shambles. However, Labour is not the only political force for progressive change and a radical approach in political thinking is needed to consensually address the imminent crises of world economic stagnation, an ageing population, failing public services, political division and isolationism, mass migration and global warming. The Lib Dems make an eloquent case for a fairer more redistributive state. The Greens argue the climate emergency demands our immediate attention, and money. Both the SNP and Plaid Cymru appreciate the economic and social benefits of rejoining the EU.
Our first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, an historical throwback to a bygone age of two mass-membership parties, is notoriously unfair to smaller parties. With a predicted 15% of votes, Naughty Nigel’s quasi-NF/thinly-veiled EDL Reform UK could feasibly come third but be represented by only five seats. With a similar vote, the Lib Dems would achieve closer to seventy seats. Notwithstanding the fact that I abhor everything about Farage, the mismatch between votes and seats is hard to ignore and an individual’s support of him is as valid as mine for Sir Keir. The argument for proportional representation has never been more clear and, following the result, we will undoubtedly witness an increased level of dissatisfaction, anger and disenfranchisement amongst a significant proportional of the population.
Tomorrow I shall vote with optimism and hope in my heart. Not for a cut in National Insurance, an ill-conceived national service scheme or flights to Rwanda but with hope for a return to serious government, for an administration that seeks to address the big policy issues in a steadfast and mature manner, for a genuine move away from the politics of division and personality, for consensus and collaboration. I shall vote for the future. Food for thought I trust and I’ll leave you with Irish comedian, Dave Allen’s famous sign-off: “Goodnight, thank you, and (for whomever you vote) may your God go with you.”
