I voted yes.
I’m not talking about last year’s independence referendum, but about the Alternative Vote (AV) referendum in 2011. While the campaign was dominated by complex arguments about the pros and cons of various electoral systems, with some hearty Lib Dem bashing thrown in, I simply wanted to see a system where my vote matters, no matter where I live.
However the proposal to replace First Past The Post with AV for Westminster elections was roundly thrashed with 32.1% voting Yes, compared to 67.9% voting No. The result was so decisive that it was pretty much accepted that the issue was settled, at least for a while.
Fast forward four years and the political landscape in Scotland is about to shift decisively, with major repercussions at a UK level. Decades of Labour dominance are about to end with the SNP set to make historic gains across the country. Following last week’s TNS poll, which put the SNP on 52%, our Scotland Votes tool predicted the party would win all but three of Scotland’s 59 seats.
While the actual result may well be slightly less dramatic than the TNS poll projected, the nationalists certainly seem unstoppable on their mission to become a significant force at Westminster.
One unknown is the extent to which tactical voting will influence the results in Scotland. Speculation about the SNP “holding the UK to ransom” and being prepared to “paralyse the Armed Forces and shut down government departments” is being used by pro-Union campaigners to encourage an anti-SNP vote. The Daily Mail even published a tactical voting guide.
Will an SNP landslide in Scotland lead to action to introduce some form of proportional representation for Westminster elections?
I hope so. The age of two party politics is over (for now) and speculation about possible coalitions and/or partnership working post May 7 has reached frenzied levels. Constant claims from Labour that ‘a vote for the SNP is a vote for the Tories’ sit alongside the Conservatives’ assertions that a vote for the SNP is a vote for a Labour government dancing to the nationalists tune. It’s confusing and off-putting and if hung parliaments are the new norm in British politics, I think it’s time we had an electoral system where the results more accurately reflect the share of the vote each party wins.
By Niki Birrell
