The irony of PR and a hung parliament

The election is panning out as such: the Tories will finish first in terms of the vote and have the second most number of seats. The Lib Dems will finish second in terms of the vote and have the least number of seats. Labour will have the least share of the vote and the most number of seats. No one will have a majority.

We are going to have a hung parliament. Someone will have to form a coalition. That coalition isn’t going to be Tory – Labour. The Lib Dems have to decide. We will have this power by virtue of the number of votes we got. We got those votes by virtue of the platform we stood one (we hope, at least). The platform we stood on is centrally our 4 manifesto pledges: fair schools, fair taxes, green jobs and clean politics. Our mandate to form a coalition comes from the mandate the voters will have given us to deliver these pledges.

It stands to reason therefore that we will make our coalition decision according to the possibility of doing this, and according to the democratic will of the voters. Labour will be more likely to deliver our pledges, but will have the lowest share of the vote. We can’t go with them because then we betray the mandate of the electorate as a whole. The Tories have the electoral mandate, but won’t allow our pledges to be delivered. We can’t go with them because then we betray the mandate of those who voted for us.

In fact, it is not that the Tories would block all our manifesto commitments. Pupil premium: fine. Green jobs: fine Balanced taxes: tricky but do-able. It’s the final one that is the problem. The Tories just will not accept PR, or so their manifesto says. Isn’t it just ironic? The reason the Tories can’t go into coalition is the same as why they have to form a coalition: our ridiculous voting system. The Tories will have the democratic right to be in government but not the maths. They should be complaining about the appalling fact that Labour have the most seats and least votes, but they can’t because they are fundamentally committed to the system that created this situation.

I have no wish to ally with the Tories, being more an anti-Tory than a pro-Lib Dem voter. It could happen however, if the Tories wouldn’t be so pig-headedly reactionary. Their stance is a clear reminder to me of why they are an abhorrent part led by abhorrent individuals. PR is so necessary because currently the voices of our voters are being silenced: making a joke of our democracy. That the party with the least votes has the most representation is a mockery of the principle of rule by the people. That there are only ever two parties in a constituency which it is worth voting for (3 in a very select few), and any other vote is wasted and ignored makes the EU look democratic.

To be opposed to PR is to be opposed to democracy, and that the Tories are is a disgrace and a shame.