Labour now largest party in Lords

[Filuwaúrdjan]

List of the new Peers:

Labour

Irene Adams, Donald Anderson, Tony Banks, Lynda Clark, Jean Corston, Jack Cunningham, Derek Foster, George Foulkes, Alan Howarth, Lewis Moonie, Estelle Morris, Martin O'Neill, Chris Smith, Clive Soley, Ann Taylor, Dennis Turner

Tory

Virginia Bottomley, Alastair Goodlad, Archibald Hamilton, Nicholas Lyell, Brian Mawhinney, Gillian Shephard

LibDem

David Chidgey, Nigel Jones, Archibald Kirkwood, Jenny Tonge, Paul Tyler

New State of the Parties

Labour: 214
Conservatives: 210
Lib Dem: 74
Crossbenchers: 181

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

i wonder if any thought was given to placing Trimble in the Lords?

[Democratic Hawk]

i wonder if any thought was given to placing Trimble in the Lords?

I think the others are all retirees rather than defeatees but I'd be surprised if Trimble isn't appointed to the Lords at some stage

Dave

[afleitch]

Suprise suprise, Labour don't want to loosen their grip on power. In Scotland they want to abolish the present PR system allowing them to reign 'in perpetuam' (They have had the largest share of the vote consistently since 1959 i think. I don't even think an Eastern European state has quite managed that)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Suprise suprise, Labour don't want to loosen their grip on power.

Course not
Mind you, the fact it's taken quite a few years since the abolition of the hereditaries to get to this stage is quite positive IMO.
First time for an extremely long amount of time that the Tories aren't the largest party in the Lords, btw.

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I'd rather they introduce an AV system or something, but the way list-PR has worked in Scotland (ie: lot's of loonies getting in)...

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Wales can; since 1935 at least (Labour also won the most seats in Wales in 1931, only part of U.K where they managed that IIRC, although I'm not sure about votes).

[minionofmidas]

Suprise suprise, Labour don't want to loosen their grip on power.

Course not
Mind you, the fact it's taken quite a few years since the abolition of the hereditaries to get to this stage is quite positive IMO.
First time for an extremely long amount of time that the Tories aren't the largest party in the Lords, btw.

18th century? Thought so.

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I'd rather they introduce an AV system or something, but the way list-PR has worked in Scotland (ie: lot's of loonies getting in)...[/quote]Well. It`s the will of a loony people. And I like that people. What*s AV?

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Wales can; since 1935 at least (Labour also won the most seats in Wales in 1931, only part of U.K where they managed that IIRC, although I'm not sure about votes).
[/quote]Nothing unusual whatsoever about one party being strongest since 1959.

[Peter]

What*s AV?

Known under many aliases including Alternative Vote, Instant Runoff Vote and Preferential Vote, it is effectively the Atlasian electoral system, though I think we have slightly different tie-break rules that have been tailored because of our relatively small size.

I think AV would be something of a joke and would obviously be used by the Lib Dems/Labour to systematically discriminate against the Tories in every margainal. It would lead to some freak results as we have now, just with the Tories being sent into electoral extinction despite polling upwards of 30% of the vote.

I would suggest AMS (the system used in Scotland and Wales), setup on a 75-25 split, thus diminishing the number of top-up seats available to nutters, and then also set the number of Regions quite high, making it more difficult for the likes of the BNP to find a foothold.

[minionofmidas]

IIRC in the London Mayor election, people could vote only two preferences. That it?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If we get it, it would probably be similer to the London system, yes.

[Peter]

IIRC in the London Mayor election, people could vote only two preferences. That it?

London Mayoral race is something called Supplementary Vote, invented by Dale Campbell Savours, a Labour MP in the 1990s.

AV = IRV = PV, and is almost identical in every way to Atlasia voting, except for how you break incredibly unlikely ties that never happen in the real world.

[minionofmidas]

This does not sound like the sort of system the UK needs.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This does not sound like the sort of system the UK needs.

Depends how you look at it

[minionofmidas]

Just wondering about just what might happen. the first election would go as pete describes, except that Labour would also lose a nuumber of urban middleclass seats to the LDs. After that, though, we have basically wipedout Tories, a Lab majority and a strong LD opposition. Which would lead to a big realignment no doubt. I don`t think the Tories would pull 30% twice under this system. It might result in a two-party system as in Australia, with the conservative party labelled the "Liberal Democrats"!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Just wondering about just what might happen. the first election would go as pete describes, except that Labour would also lose a nuumber of urban middleclass seats to the LDs. After that, though, we have basically wipedout Tories, a Lab majority and a strong LD opposition. Which would lead to a big realignment no doubt. I don`t think the Tories would pull 30% twice under this system. It might result in a two-party system as in Australia, with the conservative party labelled the "Liberal Democrats"!

All possible. Tory losses would be heaviest in East Anglia I think. As for Labour losses... Glenda Jackson losing isn't exactly something I'd be upset about.