This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/08/ukip-success-electoral-reform

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
One reason for progressives to cheer Ukip's success One reason for progressives to cheer Ukip's success
(5 months later)
I took the day off work on a May day almost exactly two years ago to canvass for a yes vote in the AV referendum. By that time it was obviously doomed, but I thought I'd feel better if I did something. So with a small band of mostly Labour people I spent a few hours knocking on doors. I may even have persuaded about four people to change their minds. I've since regretted losing my purple "Yes to AV" poster – what a souvenir.I took the day off work on a May day almost exactly two years ago to canvass for a yes vote in the AV referendum. By that time it was obviously doomed, but I thought I'd feel better if I did something. So with a small band of mostly Labour people I spent a few hours knocking on doors. I may even have persuaded about four people to change their minds. I've since regretted losing my purple "Yes to AV" poster – what a souvenir.
Since the vote was lost (67.9% to 32.1%), proponents of electoral and constitutional reform have had little to cheer. The promise of elections to the House of Lords has been ditched, as have Tory plans to redraw constituency boundaries and reduce the number of MPs. Hardly anyone thinks the Scottish independence referendum will be won and the cause of republicanism, once close to the Guardian's heart, has taken a kicking with the monarchy's surge in popularity.Since the vote was lost (67.9% to 32.1%), proponents of electoral and constitutional reform have had little to cheer. The promise of elections to the House of Lords has been ditched, as have Tory plans to redraw constituency boundaries and reduce the number of MPs. Hardly anyone thinks the Scottish independence referendum will be won and the cause of republicanism, once close to the Guardian's heart, has taken a kicking with the monarchy's surge in popularity.
These are reactionary times. And now Ukip has won 139 new council seats with a quarter of all votes in the local elections, an achievement most are treating as a massive shock.These are reactionary times. And now Ukip has won 139 new council seats with a quarter of all votes in the local elections, an achievement most are treating as a massive shock.
For anyone on the left-of-centre side of politics, the natural reaction is horror. A year ago I was a Green party London Assembly candidate and Ukip's denial of climate change terrifies me. A county, let alone the country, being run along such hard-right, nationalist lines is a vile prospect (and for now it won't be – unlike the Greens, who have a minority administration in Brighton and Hove, Ukip has yet to win control of a council). The rational fear, particularly given the views of the press barons, is that Ukip will move the political centre miles to the right.For anyone on the left-of-centre side of politics, the natural reaction is horror. A year ago I was a Green party London Assembly candidate and Ukip's denial of climate change terrifies me. A county, let alone the country, being run along such hard-right, nationalist lines is a vile prospect (and for now it won't be – unlike the Greens, who have a minority administration in Brighton and Hove, Ukip has yet to win control of a council). The rational fear, particularly given the views of the press barons, is that Ukip will move the political centre miles to the right.
And yet. If like me you long for an earthquake to transform our politics, you can't help but hope. After decades building themselves up as a third force in English politics – the nationalist parties make Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland different – the Lib Dems blew their chance of electoral reform by joining the Tories in government. Since then, many in Labour as well as Conservatives have been rubbing their hands at the prospect of a return to two-party politics.And yet. If like me you long for an earthquake to transform our politics, you can't help but hope. After decades building themselves up as a third force in English politics – the nationalist parties make Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland different – the Lib Dems blew their chance of electoral reform by joining the Tories in government. Since then, many in Labour as well as Conservatives have been rubbing their hands at the prospect of a return to two-party politics.
Ukip's success shows this is sheer folly, that a Tory v Labour future is the last thing voters want. Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston and the Guardian's John Harris both suggested last week that votes for Ukip were as much about the candidates' culture as their policies, as much a case of "a plague on all your houses" as votes against immigration or Europe.Ukip's success shows this is sheer folly, that a Tory v Labour future is the last thing voters want. Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston and the Guardian's John Harris both suggested last week that votes for Ukip were as much about the candidates' culture as their policies, as much a case of "a plague on all your houses" as votes against immigration or Europe.
Electoral reform, especially in the limited form we have so far been offered it, won't solve all our problems. I've been discomfited by what I've seen of the party lists used in proportional systems, and it's impossible to work out what difference AV would in practice have made.Electoral reform, especially in the limited form we have so far been offered it, won't solve all our problems. I've been discomfited by what I've seen of the party lists used in proportional systems, and it's impossible to work out what difference AV would in practice have made.
But the current electoral arrangements are not fit for purpose, as Lord Reid once said of the Home Office's immigration operation, and grandees like him who backed the Labour No to AV campaign did a bad thing in shutting down a conversation about how to open the system up. Pestered to shop around in areas of life where they would rather not bother, consumers of government really do want more choice. That the Greens made modest progress last week, gaining five seats so there are now 141 Green councillors, backs this up.But the current electoral arrangements are not fit for purpose, as Lord Reid once said of the Home Office's immigration operation, and grandees like him who backed the Labour No to AV campaign did a bad thing in shutting down a conversation about how to open the system up. Pestered to shop around in areas of life where they would rather not bother, consumers of government really do want more choice. That the Greens made modest progress last week, gaining five seats so there are now 141 Green councillors, backs this up.
Unlike the BNP, who were in the no camp, Ukip supported AV. After last week the greatest danger for what's left of British social democracy is that the party now abandons that principle in favour of a pact with the Conservatives. If anything good can come out of Ukip's success it will be that the conservatives inside Labour, who cling to the hope of running the country on their own with less than 50% support (Tony Blair's 1997 "landslide" was 43.2% on a turnout of 71%) will change their minds. If AV was the wrong solution to the problem of our unrepresentative politics, all the more reason to try again. In 2013 we have no choice but to fashion a new, multi-party democracy. For progressives, there is no going back.Unlike the BNP, who were in the no camp, Ukip supported AV. After last week the greatest danger for what's left of British social democracy is that the party now abandons that principle in favour of a pact with the Conservatives. If anything good can come out of Ukip's success it will be that the conservatives inside Labour, who cling to the hope of running the country on their own with less than 50% support (Tony Blair's 1997 "landslide" was 43.2% on a turnout of 71%) will change their minds. If AV was the wrong solution to the problem of our unrepresentative politics, all the more reason to try again. In 2013 we have no choice but to fashion a new, multi-party democracy. For progressives, there is no going back.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.