Why are British left-wingers so enthusiastic about proportional representation?

[YL]

As others have said, European elections are not exactly typical of British elections.

I'm broadly in favour of PR, though I don't like closed lists and generally it isn't a make-or-break issue for me.  IMO FPTP tends to produce unhealthily large majorities on vote shares which don't really deserve them, causes too much of a focus on marginal seats and encourages voters to vote for parties they don't really support because their real preference would be a "wasted vote" (and it also encourages parties to explicitly campaign to get such votes)*.  I'm not sure that that has a lot to do with my position on the left/right scale, except that my view of the large majorities obtained in 1983 and 1987 is coloured by my (very negative) view of what those majorities were used to do.

* I know tactical voting is possible in other systems too, but it seems to be a particular feature of FPTP.

[YL]

Given http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_election,_2009_%28United_Kingdom%29

I don't think only leftwingers are pro-prop.


Simply, FPTP is a prehistoric system, the most unfair, the less exciting (for hardcore election-night fans^^) and... and simply the worst system in the whole universe.

AV

You mean that system you folk use for mayoral elections? That one's certainly worse than FPTP, yeah.

That's called "Supplementary Vote".  It works OK in London where everyone knows who the top two are going to be after the first round, but when that isn't obvious it gets silly.

I believe the Police Commissioner elections are going to use this system too.

[YL]

I believe the Police Commissioner elections are going to use this system too.

urgh

... at the elections or the system?  (Or both, which I'd entirely sympathise with?)