That is the title of a recent piece on the History and Policy website by Matthew Roberts, a historian at Sheffield Hallam University. Although his discussion is focused on the UK, which will soon have a referendum on electoral reform, his discussion of two-member constituencies might be of interest to Canadian political historians.
Electoral reform dilemmas: are single-member constituencies out of date?
24 02 2011Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: electoral reform
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British Columbia and Electoral Reform
13 05 2009As strong proponent of electoral reform who happens to leans in the direction of Proportional Representation, I’m disappointed that BC voters rejected the proposed electoral reform. I’m also surprised that did so by such a wide margin. In a 2005 referendum on whether to introduce the STV system of voting, nearly 58% of B.C. voters endorsed electoral reform. (This was just 2 percentage points shy of the threshold needed for the proposal to become law). However, in yesterday’s vote, only 39% of voters supported electoral reform. 61% opted to stay with the same system. Given that the same system was on offer in 2009 as in 2005, I’m surprised that attitudes have shifted against electoral reform. Can anybody explain this?
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Tags: British Columbia, electoral reform
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The Past Speaks 