Wednesday 21 January 2015

Will UK General Election give First Past The Post one big kicking?

With one relatively recent failed referendum on ditching First Past The Post, one would think it would be highly unlikely that the Liberal Democrats' manifesto will include a fresh promise of delivering a voting system referendum.

However, taking a quick examination of the history of the introduction of devolution in Scotland does show there was a failed referendum in 1979, before the Scots subsequently voted yes in 1997.

I could spend hours talking about the many failures of FPTP, ranging from gerrymandering of seats to tactical voting.  But it is ultimately the large proportion of wasted votes which illustrates why countries with FPTP tend to have lower voter participation than elsewhere.

The likelihood of the UK heading for a second successive Hung Parliament, if it becomes a reality, will send a clear message to all those smart arses who argue that FPTP delivers decisive majorities!  History does show there have been other cycles in Britain's First Past The Post system which failed to produce governments with decisive majorities.

What has now become relatively forgotten are the two general elections in 1951 and 1974, which saw the party with the highest number of votes not win the highest number of seats!

The 2015 General Election will not produce a fresh referendum on electoral reform.  But what I believe it will produce is a renewal that the 2011 referendum was certainly not the end of a desire to replace FPTP.  In fact, I believe a new cycle towards ridding Britain of this outdated electoral system could now be underway.

Wednesday 7 January 2015

Postal Disruption fuels the need for Dog Ownership Licensing!

The Royal Mail are refusing to deliver mail to a street in Lancashire, England.  At least one surrounding street has also been affected by the Royal Mail action which has been ongoing for nine months.  The backdrop to this action is claims by the postal company that two of their workers have been attacked by a resident's American Bulldog.

Although the consequences of the Royal Mail action include residents having to take a four mile round trip to collect mail and a delay of important correspondance, the Royal Mail policy is spot on.  If the safety of postal workers cannot be guaranteed, then no postal service on the planet is sustainable.

In a Court appearance in October, the Dog's owner pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.  The punishment was merely a six month community order, and a court order which ordered that the dog should be muzzled in public.

It is not just postal workers who have suffered at the hands of irresponsible dog ownership and out of control dogs.  Other human beings (including young children) have lost lives of course.  

My own belief has been that it would be desirable to introduce a dog licensing system, along similar lines to the different levels of driving licence which exist, dependent on the vehicle being driven.  An extreme disruption of postal services is bad economically.  THEREFORE A DOG ATTACK ON A POSTAL WORKER MUST SURELY BE A SIGNIFICANT ARGUMENT IN FAVOUR OF THE REMOVAL OF A DOG OWNERSHIP LICENCE!