Ashdown backs vote reform campaignBy Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Published May 28th 2005 in The Independent
Paddy Ashdown, the former Liberal Democrat leader, has backed The
Independent's campaign for the introduction of fair votes for elections
to the House of Commons.
As an international civil servant, Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon has kept out of British politics since becoming High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2002. But he has re-entered the debate to join the calls for proportional representation after Labour won a majority of 67 on the support of 22 per cent of the electorate.
He said: "My long-standing, enthusiastic and committed support for electoral reform has only been strengthened by the result of the general election. I fully support the campaign to at last bring fair votes to the people of Britain."
He was speaking at the end of a week in which Mr Blair formally abolished the body which symbolised the close co-operation he forged with Labour, the joint consultative committee (JCC) of cabinet ministers and senior Liberal Democrats which was set up after Labour won power in 1997.
Although he led a rival party, Lord Ashdown probably has a unique insight into Tony Blair's views on PR, which proved the stumbling block during their intense negotiations on forming a Lab-Lib coalition with some Liberal Democrats joining the Cabinet.
Lord Ashdown made a Labour commitment to a referendum on PR a condition of such a deal. Although talks continued after Labour won a landslide in 1997, the majority strengthened the hand of senior ministers who urged Mr Blair not to concede -- notably John Prescott, and Jack Straw, who was then Home Secretary.
Mr Blair discussed the option of him declaring before a referendum that he had become convinced change to the voting system was necessary - which Lord Ashdown agreed would be enough to secure a deal.
In 1996, Mr Blair told Lord Ashdown: "I can personally deliver to you what I think you want but I must get Gordon [Brown] on board." He said Mr Brown was "still in favour of first- past-the-post". Asked if he feels he was betrayed by Mr Blair, Lord Ashdown replied: "No." He believes the Prime Minister was as "serious and sincere" as he was about their joint project to realign Britain's two centre-left parties.
Lord Ashdown believes "tribal forces" in the Labour Party proved too strong. But he does not blame Mr Blair, which surprises some colleagues, who suspect the Prime Minister was raising false hopes all along.
A week after the 1997 election, when discussing a commission on electoral reform, Mr Blair told Lord Ashdown: "I won't let Jack [Straw] scupper this." But he now believes he allowed him to do just that.
When the commission, chaired by Lord Jenkins, reported in 1998, Mr Straw rubbished its pro-PR recommendations in the Commons. At that moment, Lord Ashdown knew the project was irrecoverable. A few days later, he decided to resign as Liberal Democrat leader.
As an international civil servant, Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon has kept out of British politics since becoming High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2002. But he has re-entered the debate to join the calls for proportional representation after Labour won a majority of 67 on the support of 22 per cent of the electorate.
He said: "My long-standing, enthusiastic and committed support for electoral reform has only been strengthened by the result of the general election. I fully support the campaign to at last bring fair votes to the people of Britain."
He was speaking at the end of a week in which Mr Blair formally abolished the body which symbolised the close co-operation he forged with Labour, the joint consultative committee (JCC) of cabinet ministers and senior Liberal Democrats which was set up after Labour won power in 1997.
Although he led a rival party, Lord Ashdown probably has a unique insight into Tony Blair's views on PR, which proved the stumbling block during their intense negotiations on forming a Lab-Lib coalition with some Liberal Democrats joining the Cabinet.
Lord Ashdown made a Labour commitment to a referendum on PR a condition of such a deal. Although talks continued after Labour won a landslide in 1997, the majority strengthened the hand of senior ministers who urged Mr Blair not to concede -- notably John Prescott, and Jack Straw, who was then Home Secretary.
Mr Blair discussed the option of him declaring before a referendum that he had become convinced change to the voting system was necessary - which Lord Ashdown agreed would be enough to secure a deal.
In 1996, Mr Blair told Lord Ashdown: "I can personally deliver to you what I think you want but I must get Gordon [Brown] on board." He said Mr Brown was "still in favour of first- past-the-post". Asked if he feels he was betrayed by Mr Blair, Lord Ashdown replied: "No." He believes the Prime Minister was as "serious and sincere" as he was about their joint project to realign Britain's two centre-left parties.
Lord Ashdown believes "tribal forces" in the Labour Party proved too strong. But he does not blame Mr Blair, which surprises some colleagues, who suspect the Prime Minister was raising false hopes all along.
A week after the 1997 election, when discussing a commission on electoral reform, Mr Blair told Lord Ashdown: "I won't let Jack [Straw] scupper this." But he now believes he allowed him to do just that.
When the commission, chaired by Lord Jenkins, reported in 1998, Mr Straw rubbished its pro-PR recommendations in the Commons. At that moment, Lord Ashdown knew the project was irrecoverable. A few days later, he decided to resign as Liberal Democrat leader.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.