Raphael wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2026 3:14 pm
Replying to something alice posted in the US politics thread:
alice wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2026 2:49 pm
Here in the UK, for example, it looks unlikely that N*g$L F@r*g!'s R£f]rm P%rty will poll above 30%, and enough of the remaining 70% is sufficently repelled and knows how to play the electoral system to keep them out. Indeed, recent opinion polls suggest the far right are losing support.
It might still be a good idea to try to get a really strong movement going that tries to get the commons to switch to the Northern Irish Assembly electoral system* before the next general election. Mobilize memes, come up with catchy tunes, get celebs on board, spread the word through word of mouth, whatever. Slogans, graffiti, mass mobilization. If I was British, that's probably what I'd try now.
*That is, the system for filling seats in the legislature;
not the procedures for forming an executive.
Many opinionated opinion columns on this subject have been and are being written¹. Ironically, it might not even help, because FPTP is
really gameable, and the left has been burnt enough times since the 70s to do tactical voting information campaigning, sometimes even blending into not campaigning in seats where another left-wing party could win if the left vote coalesced around it⁴, while apparently many Reform supporters would never consider voting Tory⁵ and vice versa. Given I'd be very surprised if Starmer let voting reform go through⁷, this may be our only hope¹³.
¹ Noöne can agree on their preferred form of PR though. Scotland, Wales² and Northern Ireland all use their own systems,
of course. I like the the NI system³.
² Starting with the Senedd election this May.
³ And local councils in Scotland, don't forget them!
⁴ Sometimes leading to embarrassing situations where the Tories were doing so badly that seats that weren't considered winnable enough suddenly became winnable.
⁵ Because everyone still hates them, although these days they tend to come second to Farage/Starmer⁶, even if their actual hatedness hasn't decreased much.
⁶ Delete as appropriate.
⁷ One of the Lib Dems and Greens will try⁸ to amend the Representation of the People Bill¹¹ to introduce some form of PR, but Labour has a large enough majority that very many people, or enough very senior people, or both, would have to threaten to break the whip¹² to vote for it to make him cave to an idea pu forward by the people currently doing quite a good job of setting themselves up to ‘steal’ his voters.
⁸ Or possibly have already. It is way harder than it should be to find a list of amendments for a bill which actually includes the text of the amendment rather than just calling it
really helpful Amendment №x, so unless it gets reported on⁹ or I get bored enough to search for the bill in Hansard¹⁰.
⁹ And it quite possibly wouldn't, because it wouldn't pass.
¹⁰ The offical record of parliamentary debates, although the MPs debating do tend to assume you know what the bill means.
¹¹ Giving votes to 16 & 17 year olds, and
many other small changes to electoral law.
¹² Vote against the party's command.
¹³ Sqeals in horror.
