2010 Election: Represents the people?

This Parliament does not represent us. We demand fair votes now. There must never again be an election under this broken system. If you feel that our UK Parliamentary system should be changed why not sign the Petition for change

Our "winner takes all" system of First-Past-The-Post is bust beyond repair. It produces unfair and undemocratic results, like the one we've just seen, which don't reflect the wishes of the British people. It empowers a few thousand voters in "marginal" seats who decide elections, while those in "safe" seats, where the MP has a large majority, are ignored. And it hands huge power to the ruling party based on a tiny proportion of the vote. It is time for the UK to move to a proportional system that ties a party's share of seats to its share of votes across the country.

This is the fairest system. It would ensure everyone's vote counts; it would offer voters more choice and it would produce a government and Parliament that represents the British people.

But any change in our voting system must be led by the people, not politicians. We are calling for a Citizens Convention to be convened to decide on a new voting system to be put to the people in a referendum.

Monday 10th May 2010  13:26 petition 46,964 signed

2010 Election: Represents the people?

This Parliament does not represent us. We demand fair votes now. There must never again be an election under this broken system. If you feel that our UK Parliamentary system should be changed why not sign the Petition for change

Our "winner takes all" (sorry about the Amazon link) system of First-Past-The-Post is bust beyond repair. It produces unfair and undemocratic results, like the one we've just seen, which don't reflect the wishes of the British people. It empowers a few thousand voters in "marginal" seats who decide elections, while those in "safe" seats, where the MP has a large majority, are ignored. And it hands huge power to the ruling party based on a tiny proportion of the vote. It is time for the UK to move to a proportional system that ties a party's share of seats to its share of votes across the country.

This is the fairest system. It would ensure everyone's vote counts; it would offer voters more choice and it would produce a government and Parliament that represents the British people.

But any change in our voting system must be led by the people, not politicians. We are calling for a Citizens Convention to be convened to decide on a new voting system to be put to the people in a referendum.

Tuesday 11th May  12:22 petition 49,612 signed

This is the reality the Conservatives got 36% of the vote and gained 306 seats Labour got 29% of the vote and got 258 seats whereas the Lib Dems got 23% of the vote and only got 57 seats. The lib dems got only 3% less than Labour but got 201 seats less! Is that fair?

Please note this campaign is not party political based

This is what BANES and Chippenham parliamentary candidates support in relation to the Power2010 Campaign to initiate change:

For further information visit: www.power2010.org.uk

I didn't realise I had got started in the 2010 UK election when I used the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) service to email my prospective parliamentary candidate. I only knew two of the candidates, there are five (Chippenham Constituency Wiltshire).  The CPRE link enables email to be sent to all candidates and also the newspapers via your postal code. The service finds our potential candidates, and sends email to them (which we can alter from the standard letter if we wish).  It is easy to take part, and as the CPRE is non-political I feel there is little reason why anyone who is interested in protecting our countryside should not email their parliamentary candidate with a  request to pledge to protect rural England if they are elected.

The first candidate to respond, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones had this to say in relation to the CPRE's manifesto:

Dear Geoff
 
Thank you for your recent email.
 
Conservatives are committed to rural communities, rural services, and the rural economy.   The countryside is a place where millions of people live and work. 
Our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty protect some of our most spectacular and special countryside and we will continue to give them the strongest protection.

We will respect the rural way of life and ensure that decisions are taken in full knowledge of their impact on rural areas.  By reversing Labour’s centralisation, we will restore the voice of rural areas in the decision-making process. 

We will scrap all regional planning and housing powers exercised by regional government – saving the Green Belt currently under threat through unwanted regional plans. A Conservative government will abolish the unelected regional planning bodies. We will hand their powers back to local councils.
 
Kind regards
 
Wilfred

Greg Lovell Labour has also replied below:

I am glad to hear that our local Labour parliamentary candidate is also supporting the CPRE manifesto by signing the pledge.

Samantha Fletcher of the Green Party has also  replied to my email:

Dear Geoff,

Thanks so much for writing to me. Both personally - and as a Green
Party candidate - I am 100% committed to preserving and conserving our
countryside. That's one of the main reasons I am standing. We have to
realise that our countryside is not something to be sold off or
squandered - but valued and enhanced.

If elected, I would definitely support CPRE's manifesto.

Specifically:
Yes to democratic planning, and particularly focusing development on brownfield sites.
Yes to protecting and extending green belts and increasing national park land
Yes to stopping littering. I am horrified by the sudden massive explosion in roadside littering. I would have zero tolerance for this. I would also charge, by law, for all plastic bags. In South Africa this had an almost immediate effect on reducing the litter.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further issues
you would like to discuss - or any particular concerns that I might be
able to help you with.

Many thanks again and best regards,

Samantha Fletcher
Green Party   Wiltshire Green Party

I am glad to hear that the Green Party is also supporting the CPRE's manifesto Samantha.