Emeritus Prof Christopher MayFeb 22

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the bookies' odds, tactical voting advice (now going online) for the Gorton & Denton by-election is focussing on voting Green (Hannah Spencer) as the best route to block a win by ReformUK Ltd.

This is exactly what Labour fears; as the Green Parties (of England & Wales, and Scottish) become the best route for tactical voters, their support will start to consolidate more widely sapping Labour's remaining support.

#GortonAndDenton #politics
https://stopreformuk.vote/parl/gorton-and-denton

Stop Reform and the Tories

Stop Reform and the Tories in the UK Parliament, Local Elections, the Senedd, and the Scottish Parliament.

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Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEFeb 22

@ChrisMayLA6 And if one day the Greens win power ...

... they will suddenly realise that FPTP isn't so bad after all, and that in fact voting reform is a long way down their priority list.

Show threadEmeritus Prof Christopher MayFeb 22

@TimWardCam

Sadly, that has been what has happened with previous political parties advocating for electoral change.... thinking the Greens might be different is the triumph of however experience...

Show threadDamonHDFeb 22

@ChrisMayLA6 @TimWardCam The conflict of interest is so bare of course - why demolish the voting scheme that just got you into power?

A well-informed electorate can work round many of the rough edges of FTFP. I do not want party lists and sycophancy above all. I just got to understand and like the scheme in the Bunderstag, now changed, but would take any reasonable alternative where I am voting for an individual first. On that basis I have voted across parties for example...

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEFeb 22
@DamonHD @ChrisMayLA6 FPTP can be described as "party list with a list length of one". In either case you can get to choose who's on the list by joining the party of your choice and taking part in the selection process, goes the theory. But I'm not sure it's a very good theory.
Show threadDamonHDFeb 22
@TimWardCam @ChrisMayLA6 FTFP is simple but too simple. I definitely would like some of my preference to count even if my first choice does not win outright.
Show threadbeemohFeb 22

@DamonHD @TimWardCam @ChrisMayLA6 This is why I felt the Ranked Choice we were offered and said no to in that referendum was the right one.

If you don't like the individual the party you like has picked, then you can move your vote to the broadly-aligned alternative without necessarily letting their opposite in.

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEFeb 22
@beemoh @DamonHD @ChrisMayLA6 Current theory is that we should have gone for some form of AV/PR for *local* elections rather than parliamentary. As the Tories don't give a shit about local councils that'd have probably got through, and might have become the thin end of the wedge.
Show threadDamonHD
@TimWardCam @beemoh @ChrisMayLA6 Well except someone took the tme to remove PR from the London (mayoral) elections which I had thought worked OK...
Feb 22 at 3:11pmWeb
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEFeb 22
@DamonHD @beemoh @ChrisMayLA6 Sure. But the "mayors" aren't part of local democracy anyway - they were invented as a centralising measure precisely *because* central government couldn't be arsed with dealing with all those pesky little councils.
Show threadbeemohFeb 22
@TimWardCam @DamonHD @ChrisMayLA6 Which is probably why they're closing them all down.
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEFeb 22
@beemoh @DamonHD @ChrisMayLA6 They haven't announced that yet, unless I'm missing something? - I thought it was just the PCCs which were being abolished so far. Which is a Good Thing, but the same logic should, indeed, be applied to get rid of the mayors.
Show threadbeemohFeb 22
@TimWardCam @DamonHD @ChrisMayLA6 Councils, I meant- not mayors.