Why we need PR

I see the government is at it again, proposing changes to the law so it can steamroller opposition into the ground. Basically Ruth Kelly has proposed changing the planning laws to make it quicker for large-scale developments to be foisted onto local communities - see here.

It's amazing how people seem to think that our political system is good because it encourages "strong" governments. By strong they mean governments with unassailable majorities who become increasingly authoritarian and less accountable the longer they're in power. The only way to stop this abuse of power is to change the electoral system so that a government can't railroad people in this way. During the 80s, Thatcher governed on less than 50 per cent of the vote - in other words, a minority of voters gave her unassailable power. The situation is the same in 2007, except of course this time Blair managed to get this level of power with just 36 per cent of the popular vote.

If we truly lived in a democratic country, my vote would be equal to anyone else's, but the reality is much different. Rather than re-tread old ground, I'll point you here, where I discussed this at length in the wake of the 2005 General Election.