Daily Archives: 9 May, 2015
The dark side of Westminster Democracy
The British democracy is admired around the world. Its vibrant debates in the House of Commons, the thoroughness and boldness of the weekly interrogation of the prime minister, the frequent shouting and jeering of MPs, are all taken as demonstration of the high level of scrutiny that the executive undergoes by the representatives of the People. Now, how would you look at the vibrancy of the political debate in Parliament if you knew that important segments of the public (up to almost 50% of the voters) may not be represented in it at all? With the first-past-the-post system it is mathematically possible that, with up to 49.9% of the total votes, a given political force or party gets no MP at all.
