Notes On A Banana Monarchy

There’s been much talk of proportional representation and an unfair electoral system as England prepares to decide who shall be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Although Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg has intimated that electoral reform is not a deal breaker if he enters coalition talks after the poll, the issue will remain on the political radar for the foreseeable future. From a Scottish perspective it should be a done deal after The Parliament adopted the STV system as the preferred method for voting in Westminster Elections.

It once was a favourite conspiracy theory amongst nationalists that proportional representation was introduced into Scotland’s fledgling democracy as a means of stopping The SNP from obtaining a parliamentary majority. While it has had its limitations exposed, at least AMS (Additional Member System) began to address the bizarre effects of first past the post in Scottish elections. Perhaps it is fortunate that the blunt remedy England's voters administered to Labour didn’t materialize north of the border. Even if armageddon were to arrive for the party in Scotland, there could be the ludicrous scenario whereby The Labour Party finishes fourth and still ends up with the most seats.

In theory Labour could get %20.9 of the Scottish vote and still finish first in seats on 18. According to Electoral Calculus, The SNP could finish first with %27.5 of the vote and end up tied for second in seats with the Liberal Democrats (%24.1) on 17. Were there to be a modest Tory resurgence (collective national masochism), the minority party would still end up fourth with %21.7 of the vote and 7 seats. Such a result would seriously undermine what is left of Westminster's mandate it Scotland and expose the Scottish electoral system to international ridicule once again.

Were The Scottish Parliament to hold sway and STV is introduced for Westminster elections, Scotland can begin to rebuild some of its democratic credentials. Spoiled ballots, erroneous counts, missing electoral registers, and widespread suspicion of postal voting have all occurred under Westminster’s watch. Mr Clegg would be well advised to realize that a deal on PR isn't enough if he means to instigate an electoral reform agenda in Scotland. Full control of elections in Scotland must be transferred to Holyrood as part of any package of reform.