UK AV Referendum - Results Thread

[Antonio the Sixth]

Depressing. It seems as all electoral reform movements through referenda in the western world falls flat on its nose. Voters are too dumb to see that FPTP is sh**t.

^^

[Antonio the Sixth]

When Oxford and Cambridge support something and the rest oppose it, such thing can't not be a good thing.

[Antonio the Sixth]

It would be interesting to see just how many 'No' voters thought that FPTP is genuinely the best possible system for the UK, compared to those who agree that it's sh**t but that AV is no improvement.  I wonder if it would even have been a majority of the overall vote.

It seems like the reform was too much too fast. Even with the argument that Clegg's support sank the campaign, the AV system seemed to be too complicated for the average British voter to get in favor of. FPPT has its defaults, been many voters saw the status quo as the best choice. Also the No campaign was effective in its message of an AV system leading to more Coalitions, more Nick Cleggs in government, and a rise in the far right whether it be the BNP or the tamer UKIP. Proponents of electoral reform probably should have pushed for a MMP system first and seen how that went. In fact that system seems to work perfectly fine in Scotland and Ireland, and is less unstable than a purely proportional system.

MMP/PR is far more favorable to centrist/far-right parties than AV is.

[Antonio the Sixth]

AV doesn't favor larger or smaller majorities. AV doesn't make representation more or less proportional. In terms of global results, the only thing it does is avoiding the effect of vote split. Let's say that if party A polls 40%, and parties B and C, which are nearly identical and allied, poll 25% each, party A won't win in a landslide and parties B and C would likely have a majority together.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Now we are talking about "concessions"...

The reason why Clegg will be remembered as an utter failure and a joke is precisely because he acted as if he had to pray Cameron for concessions. That's not how people in his situation should have acted. In 2010, Clegg was the kingmaker : he had the power, and the duty to tell Cameron "I want this, this, this and this. Either you accept or you go f- yourself". He didn't have the balls to do, and instead he got a miserable little stupid concession, which he eventually ended up losing too because his acceptance of every Tory policy made him unpopular.

[Antonio the Sixth]

You make the mistake of assuming that he ever stood for anything.

It's not only about convictions or wanting to change things. The way he acted totally destroyed his political carreer, making him a total joke.

[Antonio the Sixth]

10% approval ratings ? Yeah, makes sense.