On the PR thing, two points:

Firstly, France only uses PR for the Euros. For all National elections they use a two-round FPTP whereby any seats with no candidate securing 50% in the first round goes into “ballotage” two weeks later. Only candidates securing above a threshold (I forget actual number but it is around 15% of votes) can stand in the second round – though in practice it is often the two top placed candidates. For the presidential election only the two leading candidates progress – which is how the 2002 election produced a shock Chirac-Le Pen run-off.

While a modified version of anglo-saxon simple majority FPTP, it is nonetheless FPTP. What the two-round system does do is allow a wider choice of party and ensure that in all seats the most popular candidate wins. It also moderates the wide swings which can occur under simple FPTP as voters can take stock of the national and local position after the first round.

Secondly, while we can debate the merits of various systems and perhaps even reach a consenus on reform in the not too distant future, there is no way that any change in the electoral system is going to be in place before the next GE.

Even assuming that Brown can get himself organised to introduce a bill and whip it through the Commons, with extensive use of guillotines, it will not pass the Lords. Brown cannot invoke the Parliament Act to push it through because there is less than a year to go. Even then, there is no time for it to be put into effect in practical terms.

Any attempt to even try it will become clear for what it is – a blatant attempt to rig the election to save Labour from disaster – and as such, I doubt even the most passionate PR supporter on the LD benches would support it.

When people say “PR”, I’m not sure how often they really understand what they mean…
“en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_system”

there are tons of variations on the theme, and I think the point is that the system you implement doesn’t magically alter the culture of a country.
Germany and Italy remain distinctive in their cultural norms, and their PR systems yield different outcomes.
Plugging PR into the UK would likeasmuch yield yet another outcome that reflects our own cultural norms:
“www.worldpolicy.org/projects/globalrights/democracy/maps-pr.html”
…you can’t really generalise about the outcomes of PR being entirely negative; but it isn’t purely the reserve of “free and fair” democracies.

PR is one of those things like Direct Democracy that sound great in theory, but when operating in the wild, they are subject to the vicissitudes of human nature.

A preferential voting system would probably satisfy most (if not all) of the desires of people who profess an interest in PR. Ireland is about the only model for that, and turnout is respectable.

When people say “PR”, I’m not sure how often they really understand what they mean…
“en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_system”

there are tons of variations on the theme, and I think the point is that the system you implement doesn’t magically alter the culture of a country.
Germany and Italy remain distinctive in their cultural norms, and their PR systems yield different outcomes.
Plugging PR into the UK would likeasmuch yield yet another outcome that reflects our own cultural norms:
“www.worldpolicy.org/projects/globalrights/democracy/maps-pr.html”
…you can’t generalise.

PR is one of those things like Direct Democracy that sound great in theory, but when operating in the wild, they are subject to the vicissitudes of human nature.

A preferential voting system would probably satisfy most (if not all) of the desires of people who profess an interest in PR. Ireland is about the only model for that, and turnout is respectable.