Shocked
I hadn't realised how undemocratic our electoral system really is. I heard a thing on the radio the other day where someone was explaining that because of the huge variation in the size of constituencies, Labour have to win many fewer votes to win a seat than other parties do. I've just been playing with the BBC's election seat calculator - and
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It's not /quite/ as bad as it looks at first glance, though clearly our electoral system is sub-optimal (and I noticed Cameron claiming we should stick with the existing system because it allows you to throw the elected government out - I didn't realise that alternative voting systems led to one-party dictatorships)
Basically, turn-outs are lower in poorer parts of the country. Normalized for turn-out, Labour's share of the vote would be higher. But the Lib Dems are utterly stuffed, because their share of the vote is fairly evenly spread (which explains why, under our current system, if they won the popular vote, they might still be the smallest party)
Any sort of electoral reform would be good. A second chamber elected on a PR basis would be interesting.
But, frankly, the Lib Dems have very little chance of getting the sort of reform they need. Labour and the Tories have got the situation stitched up and I can't see either of them changing it. Bastards.
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