A fairer voting system lies at the heart of renewing trust in British politics

8.03.46pm GMT Tue 16th Feb 2010

Peter Tyzack argues that a fairer voting system lies at the heart of any hope of renewing trust in British politics.

"The national anger at the abuse of parliamentary expenses on top of declining voter participation in elections are symptoms of a worrying rift between politicians and citizens.

Part of this rift is because the Government once elected, doesn't NEED to listen to you. One party can control Parliament with only 25% support across the nation.

I was told in no uncertain terms, last Thursday, by Tory PPC Jack Lo Presti, that 'there will never be proportional representation'. I understand him to mean:

1. under a Conservative government Gordon Brown's proposal for a referendum on electoral reform will not happen

2. Britain will ALWAYS have a first-past-the-post-system

Apart from the arrogance of telling the voters of Britain how they will elect their politicians, Mr Lo Presti is clearly out of touch with the electorate's views. Opinion polls have consistently shown majority support for a voting system that would give parties seats in Parliament in proportion to their share of votes, the latest June 2009 by a majority of 63% to 22%.

I support the proposal for a simpler AND fairer voting system based on the local government model. For example, in South Glos there would be a single parliamentary constituency with 2 or 3 MPs selected from 10 or 12 candidates.

The benefits would be:

1. simplicity for the voter: you can express your real preferences since there will be much less tactical voting

2. voters can mix and match - for example, voting for a Lib Dem MP who has been particularly helpful on a piece of casework, while casting their other votes for Labour/Tories in accordance with their wider political views.

All parties would have to have policies attractive to voters everywhere, rather than concentrating on the small minority of swing voters in marginal constituencies as is presently the case."

Peter Tyzack welcomed at Redfield Hindu Temple

On Sunday 14th Feb Peter Tyzack spoke to the Hindu community after their service at the Temple in Redfield. He said that "the key difference with Liberal Democrats is their strong belief in fairness and that all the party's policies start from that core principle".

After speaking Peter met many of the people present, and shared lunch with Sachin Singal and his family. He said he was pleased to have again been made so welcome, and that this was his third visit to the Temple.