Vote for change

Out with the old, in with the new – it’s time for sweeping change.

Before you accuse me of party bias, I’m not talking about Messrs Brown, Cameron and Clegg.

No, I’m talking about an even bigger loser than those three – namely our discredited political system.

Rarely before has it looked as pathetic as it does now, in the wake of a General Election that has been overwhelmingly marred by inequality and misplaced power.

This poll, the third of the bright new millennium, encapsulated all the failings of our unwritten and untenable constitution.

There was the unseemly furore over when it should be, a distribution of seats that bore only the slightest resemblance to the nation’s voting patterns and – despite all the apparent resurgence in political interest – a dismal turnout of only 65 per cent.

Well enough’s enough.

The word “change” has been abused, parroted and bastardised by politician after politician in recent months. But that is what we now need, in three fundamental ways.

Firstly, we need to ditch the first- past-the-post electoral system and embrace proportional representation. Whatever you think about the Lib Dems, the fact they secured one in every four votes but got only one in every 11 seats is patently unjust. Other, smaller, parties are put at an even more indefensible disadvantage.

The suggestion that coalitions lead to weak government and indecision is without foundation or evidence. Countries across Europe and beyond, including Scotland and Wales don’t forget, manage to not just survive but thrive with coalition politics and to suggest that Westminster has a unique allergy to such power-sharing is bonkers. If the new Con-Dem alliance achieves anything, then hopefully it can be debunking the myth that Britain can’t cope under a coalition, and facilitating the change to a system that makes it the norm.

The second change required is to introduce fixed-term Parliaments of five years. It is immoral and undemocratic to allow the Prime Minister to set the date of General Elections. It accords him too much power, and will always be used as a tool to manipulate the whims of the electorate and the vagaries of the polls. Thatcher did it in 1983, Blair did it in 2001 and Brown will probably never forgive himself for not doing it in 2007.

Had we had fixed terms, then we would have been spared that pantomime of Brown’s “non-election” of 2007 and politicians could concentrate on policy for the vast majority of their terms, free from electoral uncertainty.

The new Tory Lib Dem coalition has already intimated that it will support such a change, and should be praised for that.

Finally, and perhaps most radically, it’s surely time to knock the voter apathy nonsense on the head and introduce compulsory voting.

It is trite and clichéd to say that voting doesn’t matter. It does – even more so if we achieve the switch to proportional representation. And taking part in democracy, and having a say in who runs the country, should not be seen simply as a right, but as a fundamental duty of every citizen. Nobody who utilises our Parliamentary democracy’s welfare state and public services should be allowed to then disown it when it comes to the crunch.

It’s commonplace these days for people to claim they have been turned off from politics or alienated by the politicians. Invariably, one can’t help feeling that’s a lame excuse for a lazy generation that has largely chosen to absolve itself of its civic responsibilities and duties.

Compulsory voting would, of course, require the introduction of an abstention option, or “none of the above” on the ballot paper. But a legal requirement, enforceable by fines, would greatly improve the breadth and depth of politics in this country, forcing politicians to reach out to those who would routinely not have voted, and pressing citizens to get off the sofa and involve themselves in society.

Only then would we reach a point where we had truly improved the standing, reputation and quality of our politics. Here’s hoping those in the great new world of coalition Government have the vision to lead the way.