Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 3:42 pm FFS

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ral-system

If Reform ever wins power in Westminster, it will be because of Labour’s cowardice

George Monbiot
Starmer could improve our unfair electoral system to stop the hard right, but he won’t. All the party has left are threats about ‘splitting the vote’

It's not a 'threat". It's a fact. As it was when I voted Green in my constituency in 2024. Was I being threatened by the Greens?

But let's be clear about what this argument is. It's saying that the Government, having at no point mentioned they might change the electoral system, change it explicitly to stop another party from winning? How would that not be seen as a massive stitch up?

Note the typical assumption from this sort of person that everyone agrees with them really. There's virtually no mass pressure to change the voting system. People had a chance to do it in 2011, and said very clearly No Thanks.

People have got to stop thinking that PR is a magic bullet that will stop bad people. If you want PR say it's for reasons of fairness.

Yeah, exactly.

There's also a lot of wishful thinking about what PR would produce in terms of policy. Zack Polanski throwing money about which he raises only from "the rich" would seem to be a pretty remote possibility. Or perhaps Zack and Ed Davey "just rejoin FFS" and every thing gets fixed like that.

So perhaps what we have now isn't quite the worst of all conceivable governments.

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 5:20 pm Hey you can assault police officers and get away with it.

Two-tier justice and something about Lucy Connolly.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 7:04 pm Yeah, exactly.

There's also a lot of wishful thinking about what PR would produce in terms of policy. Zack Polanski throwing money about which he raises only from "the rich" would seem to be a pretty remote possibility. Or perhaps Zack and Ed Davey "just rejoin FFS" and every thing gets fixed like that.

So perhaps what we have now isn't quite the worst of all conceivable governments.

Or Polanski takes the same journey as Joschka Fischer if he wishes to become a serious player in government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joschka_Fischer

German Greens are much more focussed on the realities of government than our Greens. Even so, quite the thing to give him the Foreign Office. Couldn't he have been put in charge of energy efficiency or something? The Greens only got 7%.

If Polanski gets enough seats, I suppose he would be able to demand big jobs.

I've come to the conclusion that a lot of liberal left voters just want to vote for the likes of the Greens, Lib Dems, SNP, and PC, and if the worst happens, well, Labour should have been more left-wing.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 9:07 pm German Greens are much more focussed on the realities of government than our Greens. Even so, quite the thing to give him the Foreign Office. Couldn't he have been put in charge of energy efficiency or something? The Greens only got 7%.

If Polanski gets enough seats, I suppose he would be able to demand big jobs.

Zak and Joschka Fischer mentioned in the same sentence (kinda), that's first. That 7% was neither here nor there, and Joschka Fischer still commands great respect, suggesting that political careers are not all destined to end in failure.

Baerbock, also a Green, has taken a similar route.