2010 General Election: The Cable Forum Exit Poll

[danielf]

Lib-Con is looking more likely by the minute.

New Scientist - Electoral dysfunction: Why democracy is always unfair

Such imperfections led the American economist Kenneth Arrow to list in 1963 the general attributes of an idealised fair voting system. He suggested that voters should be able to express a complete set of their preferences; no single voter should be allowed to dictate the outcome of the election; if every voter prefers one candidate to another, the final ranking should reflect that; and if a voter prefers one candidate to a second, introducing a third candidate should not reverse that preference.
All very sensible. There's just one problem: Arrow and others went on to prove that no conceivable voting system could satisfy all four conditions. In particular, there will always be the possibility that one voter, simply by changing their vote, can change the overall preference of the whole electorate.

[Lord Nikon]

All that basically says is that if there are 3 candidates and 181 voters, the first 180 vote 60 each for the 3 candidates, then voter 181 gets to decide the outcome of the election...

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Chris

Local radio stations are already under enforced neutrality due to the terms of their broadcasting licences, same as TV. As for the Press - how would you legislate for that? Would the political parties be prevented from printing their own in-house magazines? What about independent, but politically partisan pamphleteers?

Not sure they'd be covered. After all, I don't believe in-house radio and TV stations are. Admittedly, in-house TV and Radio stations are not normally broadcast to everyone.

[Osem]

Andy Burnham has apparently added his name to the list of New Labour heavyweights who're claiming that a 'coalition of losers' is unacceptable and that the Tories ought to be given the chance to try to govern in the interests of national stability. I've heard John Reid, David Plunkett and others saying similar and sounding remarkably magnanimous but is their stance based on a sense of altruism and fair play or something else I wonder??.... Possibly the realisation that the next government is going to inherit a poisoned chalice and carry the can for what was allowed to happen to UK PLC on New Labour's watch. Many people have very short memories and tough decisions are needed but if they're made, the flak will start to fly so being in opposition and getting shot of Brown at the same time might seem a relatively nice, safe, place to be. Just a thought.....

[Lord Nikon]

you mean repeating the last time labour handed the reins to the conservatives?

[Osem]

Yes - letting the next government pick up the pieces, make the tough choices and get all the stick from that proportion of the electorate who can't see beyond the end of their noses.

There is no such thing as a perfect voting system never has been never will be there will always be someone that feels they havn't been represented and for us to be taking all this time to get a government by one party holding others to ransom on an issue that benefits them massively is wrong and no one in this country voted for that. Our economy is in trouble we need to get it sorted quickly or at the very least have a good plan to get it sorted none of which can happen till all this stops. It is funny that the biggest shouts for this come from lib dem supporters who clearly feel rather then their party actually appeal enough to get the votes that the system should be changed.

Also loving how so many people are saying what i voted for on my behalf and all of them are completely wrong. I voted to get this country moving and for it's problems to start getting sorted out so that my children are not paying anymore then they have too for the mess labour created. Not for one millisecond did electoral reform play any part in my vote and having spoken to a few other people it played no part in theirs either. This is an issue to address if it really needs to be addressed when we have sorted out the economy and are no longer at risk of having our credit rating as a country lowered thus costing us even more in interest costs.

As for the lib dems i havn't had many good thoughts about them for a while all through the election we heard that rubbish about them being the party of honesty and then like labour telling complete lies about the opposition and now they have the country by the privates and are squeezing for all they are worth and lets not kid ourselves they are not doing it for any high and mighty principle they are doing for themselves in future elections and if any party is stupid enough to give in to them now they will wreck whatever coalition they form once their preferred voting system is in and take us to another election.

Getting sick of the whole damn thing I WANT the really important national issues to be sorted out not the voting system and that frustration i think is spreading and the longer this goes on the more the lib dems will be viewed as the selfish want it alls they are.

[Peter_]

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

i think is spreading and the longer this goes on the more the lib dems will be viewed as the selfish want it alls they are.

I thought that was actually a perfect description of the tories especially the old etonian brigade.

[danielf]

Originally Posted by times

A senior Liberal Democrat (anonymous) has spoken to PA and produced a real cauldron of mixed metaphors.

"'We are on an island with the Tories, but some people hope a lifeboat driven by Ed Balls is going to come along,' he said.

"'What they don’t realise is that lifeboat is going in the wrong direction and it’s sinking."

"He said talks had now reached the 'endgame' and 'overtime', but it was important for the Lib Dems 'to have been seen to explore all the options'."

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

As for the lib dems i havn't had many good thoughts about them for a while all through the election we heard that rubbish about them being the party of honesty and then like labour telling complete lies about the opposition and now they have the country by the privates and are squeezing for all they are worth and lets not kid ourselves they are not doing it for any high and mighty principle they are doing for themselves in future elections and if any party is stupid enough to give in to them now they will wreck whatever coalition they form once their preferred voting system is in and take us to another election.

Their preferred system is only to accurately reflect the electorate.

Originally Posted by RizzyKing

Getting sick of the whole damn thing I WANT the really important national issues to be sorted out not the voting system and that frustration i think is spreading and the longer this goes on the more the lib dems will be viewed as the selfish want it alls they are.

Yes but it's not just about what you want. The Lib Dems are representing the people who voted for them, people like me, and good on them.

Whatever happens we are going to be having another election within a short space of time because whomever the Lib Dems hook up with, eventually they will cease to see eye to eye snd withdraw their support.

To think that we will have to go through the whole process again and there are no guarantees that this won't happen again..

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Whatever happens we are going to be having another election within a short space of time because whomever the Lib Dems hook up with, eventually they will cease to see eye to eye snd withdraw their support.

To think that we will have to go through the whole process again and there are no guarantees that this won't happen again..

I think that, amongst other things, the financial state of both New Labour and the Lib Dems means that they won't be wanting another enormously costly election too soon.

Originally Posted by Osem

I think that, amongst other things, the financial state of both New Labour and the Lib Dems means that they won't be wanting another enormously costly election too soon.

Indeed.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by BBC

Number 10 recognises that talks with the Lib Dems have not and will reach not any positive conclusion

GB gets another finger prised off the top job.