Why didn't I think of that?
It was such a strange question that I had never given it a thought. Aled ap Dafydd asked me on the Welsh Politics Show today, 'Why did AV in Australia double the number of voters who spoil their ballot papers?' I do not believe they do. Why should they? I bet it's compulsory voting that creates that resentment.
The case for using this once in a lifetime opportunity to reform our rotten First Past the Post (FPTP) system is overwhelming. New Tory MP Guto Bebb disagreed today. In his election he had just over a third of the total vote in Aberconwy. A Labour and a Plaid candidate each won slightly less than a third each. AV could threaten to change that result. No wonder Guto is alarmed.
In two recent General Elections in Wales the Tories won 20% of the votes but not one of the 40 seats in Wales. That's gratifying to me as Labour MP but it's atrocious democracy. FPTP distorts the wishes of the voters.
It's the luck of the present coalition that forced the Tories to give us a referendum.
The Tories will vote 'No". That's reason enough for Wales to vote 'Yes".
Anti-nuclear dawn
Great news. If it's true.
Anti-nuclear politics has raised its rational head in Europe. The sleeping giant has swept Angela Merkel's CD party from their 60 year dominance of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Christian Democrats won only around 43.7% of the vote, in an early exit poll. The centre-left opposition, composed of the Greens and their Social Democratic Party allies, won about 48% of the vote,enough for a narrow majority in the state legislature.
Germany has always had a strong well-informed anti-nuclear movement. The Greens in coalition forced the end of new nuclear building. Fukushima today went from fear to farce. They announced radiation levels ten-million times the normal rate. Within 24 hours they announced that figure might be a mistake. But they had no alternative guess.
No surprise that trust in nuclear power is collapsing.
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