Two-party politics? Dead or alive? Labour – banana split, Republicans – cookies, Democrats – another helping of banana split. Conservatives managed to avoid an Eton Mess.
Most European countries have multi-party systems. The UK and US doggedly maintain two-party politics and first past the post voting. This choice of apples or pears is a natural crucible to create a democracy. It should then evolve into a more sophisticated political palette offering voters nuanced choices. There is not always an outright winner. Parties have to talk to each other, forge alliances and make compromises. For goodness sake, Ireland that hasn’t been an independent country for even a century, has multi-party politics and proportional representation at the ballot box.
The self-interest of the two parties in the UK and US has stifled any kind of reform. In the UK a referendum on shifting to PR voting was stifled in 2011. Any party positioning itself in the middle ground between Left and Right gets little representation in Parliament because of first past the post voting. The only thing to be said for this is that it also excludes extreme left and right wing parties.
In the US the two party system is bolstered by the size of the country. A new party may get established in one State but has a big job to muster support across the nation. But the fissures are becoming increasingly clear. Some Republicans hate Trump so much they will vote Democrat and Hilary Clinton is almost as divisive, although if you remember Ned York’s post and do the math she is going to be the next President. Labour may split when Corbyn is re-elected as leader in September.
If there is to be a transition to multi-party politics then it must start at the ballot box. Start with a shift away from first past the post to more sophisticated choices for voters. That provides an environment in which new parties can gain representation and can shape policy. It worked here in 2010 when there was the first coalition government since World War II but if we stick with first past the post voting it won’t happen again anytime soon.
I will go further. The disillusion of British voters with politics has been manifested in the last two referendums. In the Alternative Vote referendum they failed to realise that there was a chance to change the system and simply stayed at home. It was a disgracefully low turnout on such an important issue. To remind you, here are the results.
| UK Alternative Vote Referendum 2011 | ||
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No |
13,013,123 | 67.90 |
| Yes | 6,152,607 | 32.10 |
| Valid votes | 19,165,730 | 99.41 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 113,292 | 0.59 |
| Total votes | 19,279,022 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters and turnout | 45,684,501 | 42.2 |
The electorate (wrongly in my opinion) saw the EU referendum as a more meaningful way to change our politics. They lay all the blame on Europe when in fact much of it lies beside the Thames at Westminster. Attempts by both parties to avoid changing the voting system have concentrated on fobbing us off with devolution. This isn’t even a sticking plaster. In Wales it is an inefficient waste of money and in Scotland a time bomb that will blow-up the United Kingdom.