ELECTORAL METHODS

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 169, 12 April 1930, Page 11

ELECTORAL METHODS

PROPOSED REFORM IN BRITAIN In view of the reports of an arrangement between the Labour and the Liberal Parties in Britain, based on concessions to the latter in regard to electoral reform, the following expression of opinion by the “Socialist Review” is interesting“lt will be generally agreed that the present system is based upon common sense. We have to strike a rough balance between perfect democracy and working convenience; if we did not do so we should be logically bound to have general elections every month, or every week. There is no doubt that a two-party system provides the most effective parliamentary machine, and the existing electoral law is designed heavily to discourage separate third parties. The Liberals are not really concerned to secure proportionate representation of each party as an end in itself; they have shown this by their willingness to accept the alternative vote in single-membered constituencies, a system which does nothing whatever to make representation more exact, but is simply a device for overrepresenting centre parties at the expense of extremists. The real test of an electoral sytsem is whether it secures that what may be called the ‘centre of gravity’ of the House of Commons shall be approximately where the electors wish. The present system, in practice, secures this.”