Reform The Scottish Electoral System

[jester]

In the 2016 Holyrood Election numerous candidates for election were resoundingly rejected by their constituents, yet due to the parties they represent placing them favourably on the regional list, they were elected anyway.

 

We are told that we have a democratic government/parliament. We are told that if we do not like the government or our elected representative we can vote them out. Clearly that is not the case.

 

It is entirely undemocratic that 45 MSP’s of all parties were elected to stand as MSP’s having been rejected by the voters in their respective constituencies. In some cases those rejected were the incumbents. The latter circumstances are of course the most insulting to the electorate, for no matter how poorly performing a sitting MSP may be, how out of touch they are with the local area, if they are valued by their respective parties they cannot be got rid of by the voters.

 

 

In my view, to prevent this from occurring constituency candidates should not be allowed to be placed on the regional list, and should gain office on merit. Furthermore, to prevent manipulation of the list, the ranking system should be removed. If a party gains for example three list places, those three posts should be drawn at random from the list submitted by each party, and not a from an order selected in advance; a pool rather than a determined list. This would in my opinion encourage all parties to make sure that they submitted only the very brightest and best to represent their parties, and by extension, the electorate.

 

In addition to the above, the actual system of regionally allocating members fails to truly represent the percentages of votes cast nationally, creating an imbalance to the detriment of the smaller parties, and this needs to be reviewed to reflect the national balance. For example in the May 2016 election the Scottish Green Party gained 6.6% of the vote share which equates to around 8 MSPs, and for which they only gained 6 seats. Similarly in the 2011 election they received 4.4% of the vote which should mean 5 MSP’s, and for which they actually gained 2 seats.

 

I feel that in the years since 1999 when the first elections to the reconvened Scottish Parliament took place there has been no examination of the system itself to ensure that it is delivering a fair and representative system which reflects the will of the Scottish people, and that such a review is long overdue.

 

To this end I have submitted a petition through the Scottish Parliament petitions system which is now live, and will remain so until the 28th August 2017.

 

If you agree that our Scottish electoral system is in need of reform then I would urge you to please sign the petition which can be found HERE.

 

You can also add your own comments and suggestions, all of which are welcome.

 

Thanks.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

When you say "We are told that if we do not like the government or our elected representative we can vote them out." You encapsulate the contradiction of delivering both local and national representation.

 

Ultimately it's a compromise between a PR system that would have given the greens their eight MSPs chosen by the Green Party head office and a Westminster system where each representative is chosen by a constituency but the balance of seats is massively distorted.

 

Our current system is an imperfect solution to both problems and addressing either fully will compromise the other further

 

That's not to say it couldn't be a bit better without compromising either further still.

 

I'd suggest instead that all candidates appear on both the regional list and a constituency list.

 

A party's regional list seats would then be allocated to those of it's candidates who'd performed best in their constituencies without actually winning.

 

Drawing additional members at random from the list would actually stop parties from "selecting their brightest and best" and should a minor party think it's got a chance of a constituency win in a region they shouldn't have to bar their brightest and best from the list seats

 

 

 

[LongTimeLurker]

Smaller regions using 6 or 7 seater STV formats would be better. That would get rid of fringe crank groups like the Greens unless they can achieve well over 10% and hence move out of lunatic fringe territory in numbers terms without eliminating the possibility of popular local independents getting in and would enable voters to choose between candidates of the mainstream parties so Paul Monaghan type candidates can be weeded out by the electorate.

[ICTChris]

On election nights, all the votes for each candidate should be loaded into a ballot box.  Then, the candidates should line up outside the count, behind a whitewash line painted by the returning officer.  Each candidate will then throw their box from the line - whoever throws the box furthest wins the election.

This means we will have strong leaders who will command the respect of the voters.

[jester]

6 hours ago, ICTChris said:

On election nights, all the votes for each candidate should be loaded into a ballot box.  Then, the candidates should line up outside the count, behind a whitewash line painted by the returning officer.  Each candidate will then throw their box from the line - whoever throws the box furthest wins the election.

This means we will have strong leaders who will command the respect of the voters.

That's an approach I hadn't considered...

 

[jester]

Apparently this issue was addressed in the Welsh Parliament a few years back due to the same problems: Candidates who could not be rejected by the electorate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-21755039

One suggestion which has come up since I posted the petition is that the list be operated on an open list STV style vote, so that rather than the parties themselves placing their candidates in order the voters do. Much more democratic.

 

[Highland Capital]

20 minutes ago, jester said:

One suggestion which has come up since I posted the petition is that the list be operated on an open list STV style vote, so that rather than the parties themselves placing their candidates in order the voters do. Much more democratic.

 

I think this is what they do in Spain.  At the last election, Pep Guardiola was on it for the pro-Catalan independence coalition.  Think he was ranked last though so the chances of him being elected were almost impossible.

[Fullerene]

10 hours ago, jester said:

In the 2016 Holyrood Election numerous candidates for election were resoundingly rejected by their constituents, yet due to the parties they represent placing them favourably on the regional list, they were elected anyway.

 

If you agree that our Scottish electoral system is in need of reform then I would urge you to please sign the petition which can be found HERE.

I do not know what you mean by "rejected" by their constituents.

The voting paper allows you to vote FOR a candidate but not AGAINST a candidate.
For example, I cannot write "Anyone but UKIP or Conservative would be okay with me"

How is it different from FIFA or UEFA allowing the teams that finish second or third in their group to progress to the next stage of the competition?

The Scottish system represents a fairer reflection of how the country voted.

By comparison the "First Past The Post" system is a joke.
Its main advantage was strong and stable government just like the UK has now!

Does your petition have a box labeled "I do not agree"?

[jester]

On 7/28/2017 at 18:06, Fullerene said:

I do not know what you mean by "rejected" by their constituents.

The voting paper allows you to vote FOR a candidate but not AGAINST a candidate.
For example, I cannot write "Anyone but UKIP or Conservative would be okay with me"

How is it different from FIFA or UEFA allowing the teams that finish second or third in their group to progress to the next stage of the competition?

The Scottish system represents a fairer reflection of how the country voted.

By comparison the "First Past The Post" system is a joke.
Its main advantage was strong and stable government just like the UK has now!

Does your petition have a box labeled "I do not agree"?

In a FPTP election you are free to vote tactically, you may vote for a candidate purely to get rid of another. 

The Scottish system is in two parts, a FPTP element and a list element to create a balance. If you think it should be reformed so that they remove the FPTP element then please add your comments on to the petition. They will be seen there by the petitions comment who will consider them to see whether this is something which should progress to the parliament for further discussion.