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The Guardian
January 28,
2003
Summary:
The author
sympathizes with British Liberal
Democrat leader’Äôs decision to focus on other policy agendas besides
full representation (proportional representation).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,883587,00.html
PR on the backburner: It
is a big idea whose time has not yet come
January 28, 2003 Hands up anyone who knows about Liberal
Democrat tax policy? Or health policy? Or defence? The uncomfortable
truth for those who want politics to consist of informed debates
about rival policies is that most voters do not have a clue about
any of them. There is probably only one exception to this rule.
Sometimes over the past decade the Lib Dems have almost seemed to be
a single issue party over the issue of proportional representation.
This fact alone explains why the party leader Charles Kennedy was
righAt, not wrong, to pour some discreet cold water on the PR issue
in a weekend Times interview. At first sight this claim may seem
perverse. If the policy mobilises the core supporters, or if it has
recognition with voters generally, then party managers would
normally be well advised not to ditch it. But the truth is that PR
has become an almost wholly marginal issue in British politics. If
Mr Kennedy wants to be taken seriously as a potential leader of the
opposition - and he certainly does - then he needs tAo move swiftly
away from the margins and head instead for the meatier issues that
matter to most voters. In any case, Mr Kennedy is not abandoning
the commitment to PR at all. It is there, ready and waiting as
before, as Mr Kennedy said as recently as last week in a Charter 88
lecture. All he is doing is saying that PR is a non-issue for the
moment, at a time when all Westminster politics take place in the
context of Labour's mega-majority in the House of Commons.
Proportional representation is not going to become a live issue in
British politics until one of two things starts to happen: either
there will be Aa much closer general election than the last two, or
else the Conservatives will suddenly wake up to the opportunities
that fairer voting might give them in future. One day, PR will be
back on the agenda. Until then, Mr Kennedy has more important work
to do. |
