July 06, 2007 ... Is it time for Proportional Representation in what's left of the United Kingdom?

With the labour and Conservative parties next to bankrupt, Prime Minister Gordon Brown seeking talent from other parties--primarily the Liberal Democrats--and with Proportional Representation (PR) a reality across the EU and beyond, is it now time for the United Kingdom to do likewise?

A first-past-the-post election has two fundamental advantage over the PR alternative: It is simpler to execute. And it impedes the empowerment of small, fringe parties, which too often serve to be a nuisance in their capability to weaken a government or hinder progress for narrow party interests in association with other disruptive parties. This latter complaint is more due to the lack of a limiting constitution than any real problem with PR. Which is where the proposed constitution by Gordon Brown would be useful, if designed as a limiting document, and not a declaration of nationalist puffery. And although more intricate, the PR process is now familiar enough to election officials that it has become reasonably routine.

How simple was that :-)

PR is well established in the Republic of Ireland, where last June's election resulted in an outcome as stable and meaningful as any first-past-the-post election. And with the advantage that the aspirations of democracy are more closely realised.

All things considered, this is probably the best course for Gordon Brown to pursue, with the added bonus of cutting some of the ground out from under the Liberal Democrat's feet, since PR is a mainstay of their reason to exist in what is left of the United Kingdom.