Forum Topic

Nigel Farage comments today

Let's face it, i'm not a fan....But in a speech today he did say something i completely agree with."the first past the post electoral system, which might have served us perfectly well in centuries gone by, is no longer fit for purpose, and actually leads to general elections conducted on the basis of endless negativity. ‘Do you think we’re bad? Look at the other lot. They’re even worse’ ..."It's completely true. Just look at what is happening in Putney? There are Tories who want to vote for the Brexit party but can't, Lib dems who will vote Labour. Probably because of Corbyn there are some Labour voters who don't want to vote Labour and will find someone else.The situation is ridiculous, if we could all just vote for who we actually wanted things we would have a chance of having a properly representative parliament. I'm voting Green btw, call it a wasted vote if you like but i'm sick of all the negativity and am just going to vote for the party that best represents my views.

Matt Palmer ● 2527d13 Comments

I fully agree with you, Proportional Representation would be so much better and more reflective of where we are as a country, it would allow a plurality of views to be expressed.Even though I disagree with Nigel Farage and his views, I believe if enough voters share his views then these should be represented in Parliament.I believe that would engage more people in politics as their views would be aired.I would also like to be in a position to vote Green in this election. Our Green candidate seems like a good candidate and it would be nice to vote for a fellow Dubliner.But a vote for Green is a vote for the tories, and Friends of The Earth have got behind Labour's Green Deal. I would ask you to consider how best to use your vote.Just one last thing, there is a Swap My Vote option (google it if it sounds interesting) but you could swap your vote with someone in Richmond say, where Lib Dem have a good shot at winning. You give them your vote, and they can give you theirs, say a Labour voter, and you can use it here much more effectively.That's all. Sorry if I am just going over old ground.Anyway, good luck.

Paul Doorly ● 2527d

Fergal (the green candidate) is a friend of mine so i'll be voting for him.Incidentally Friends of the Earth can say what they like, 119 Labour MP's voted in favour of a 3rd runway at Heathrow.Finally, no, a vote for the Green party isn't a vote for the Tories, it's a vote for the Green party.

Matt Palmer ● 2527d

Spot on, Matt and EmarisaFor the first time in my life I’m voting Lib Dem because I want to vote FOR something, not simply against something.  I’m not even that ardent a remainder, but throughout the campaign they’ve outlined a vision of a positive future and - unlike the Conservatives, in particular - seem to recognise that there are people in this country under 65!  The Greens also deserve to do well

Craig Fordham ● 2527d

The pain of first past the post is that none of the votes that lose count, the winner takes all. Which is a pain but a reality. That is why I would much prefer a Proportional Representation system that would reflect more diverse views rather than the very narrow representation that we currently get.I also agree that voting positively and for something is absolutely the way it should be. Sometimes though, the system might force you to consider how best to use your vote, either FOR something or AGAINST something.That's all really.

Paul Doorly ● 2527d

@MattI know you don't like Farage (understatement😀) but he has been saying this for years. I am chuffed you have found something about Farage that you agree with.😸 It has long been his other mission to reform the voting system, in fact he has chosen the name 'The Reform Party' and already registered it with the Electoral Commission. When this party become active will depend on how long NF has to be involved with TBP to ensure Brexit gets over the line.Of course the Conservative and Labour parties do not want change because it's in their interest to keep the FPTP voting system just as it is.

Sue Hammond ● 2527d

Hi Sue, Yes I do remember him saying it before, I think in a previous election he got an absolute ton of votes but ended up with 1 MP? Much as I totally disagree with his politics there's no way that that's representative.If you can hold your nose for 5 mins and look at the link below... It's an article questioning why on earth Labour supports FPTP when no other socialist party in Europe does.https://labourlist.org/2019/02/why-does-labour-like-first-past-the-post-no-other-socialist-party-supports-it/If this vote was properly representative both the Brexit party and the greens would have far more MP's than they do now. That sounds fair to me.

Matt Palmer ● 2527d

Reform is needed it's always needed.Be it: having a written constitution,an elected second chamber or/and some form of proportional representation.Ideally we would have had this before Brexit.People need representation. Peterloo should remind us of this.

Ed Robinson ● 2527d

Peterloo? What on earth is Peterloo?

Robert Wheeler ● 2526d

Try googling it. The Peterloo massacre is part of our history.

Katrina Black ● 2526d

> I know you don't like Farage (understatement😀) but he has been saying this for years.We had a referendum on changing the voting system in 2011 and "no" won. Respect the will of the people and get over it, anti-democratic, etc, etc.But seriously, I want to see the back of FPTP, we need a form of PR in the UK.It would force both main parties to sort themselves out as neither would win an outright majority, they'd have to move to a system of compromise in order to get policies through which should smooth out many of the extremes. The other parties would see a considerable boost too.I'd also like to see the party leaders (especially the eventual nominal PM) not represent a specific constituency. I can't imagine Boris doing weekly constituency surgeries for his constituents. If the leader was brought in as top of a party list that could solve some of the current problems.(And I don't have a problem on agreeing with Farage on this issue. I don't agree with much at all that he says but when he says obvious things like "Schools should get more funding" I'm not going to disagree just because it's Farage.)

Alex Greenbank ● 2526d

Sorry it should have said PeterlooThe reason they were holding a meeting is because Parliament did not represent the change in population in Manchester.Excellent BBC radio programmes.I've not watched the film yet.

Ed Robinson ● 2526d

Doesn't surprise me that you are supporting the Lib-Dems Craig.Please see my Jo Swinson post on the other thread.She is the biggest anti-Democrat in post-war Britain!What comes across to me in this election campaign is:Tories = talking the country up.Labour and Lib-Dems = talking the country down.

Paul Game ● 2526d

@Matt. Yes, although a  Labour party member, I would also have to agree that we need to get rid of the FPTP system.  Scarily, there's a couple of other things I agree with him on: firstly, Johnson can't be trusted; secondly, further reforms of the House of Lords is needed. Probably we wouldn't agree on the finer points of things but reform of the FPTP system and the House of Lords structure is something I've felt needs to be done, probably since before I was old enough to vote 🙂Having seen Fleur at the hustings and met her at events a couple of times I think Fleur would be a good constituency MP. Your friend, Fergal, was impressive too but sadly I feel in the current system it's a wasted vote and risks giving the Conservatives an advantage - but I respect that you must vote with how your beliefs tell you to. 

Michael Ixer ● 2526d