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"We, the undersigned, believe that the best way to sort out the problems facing Britain and to restore trust in our political system is for a dissolution of Parliament and a general election so that people can pass their verdict on MPs’ behaviour at the ballot box."
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Wednesday, 27 May, 2009 
As the details come out of ‘Flipping-gate’, or whatever the term is for the current MPs’ expenses scandal, there is a general feeling that we have had one rule for ‘them’ and another for us, and ‘something must be done.’ David Cameron set out the Conservative response yesterday. It was sensible and proportional.
However, beware Liberal Democrats reaching for the ‘Proportional Representation is the answer’ lever.
First, under PR we – as voters – would lose the direct link with a person whose job is to represent us in Parliament. You may disagree with the political affiliation of our MP but at least we know he is responsible for Cambridge and cannot pass the buck on to anyone else. He, in turn, knows that he has to report to us for his activities. That is right and fair. However with PR we would have several MPs and none of them would be directly responsible to individual voters. The sharing of responsibility among public bodies, as the Chancellor found out in the banking crisis when he set up a three-way system, means that nobody is really responsible.
Some types of PR take MPs further away from the voters than others. The closed list PR system we use for European Election is a case in point. Even the Single Transferable Vote means having multiple MPs for the same area and brings about the anomaly that the successful candidates are elected using the second preferences of the votes for third, or lower, preference candidates.
Second, PR puts power in the hands of minority parties. In the coalition-making process the mainstream parties can be held to ransom by single-issue sects or fringe interests. Under PR we would vote at the election but the politicians would go on to decide who was actually in the governing coalition.
This moves us neatly to another benefit of the current system: one of the joys of our first-past-the-post system is that we – as voters – can sling parties out of power. PR could put voters at the mercy of a party that would merely change its coalition partners rather than leave office.
The British people have the right to tell a party when its time in government is over.
“Gordon, it’s over.”
RN
Tuesday, 19 May, 2009
Sign our online petition: weblink: http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/Sign_for_Change/Petition_Item.aspx
Friday, 15 May, 2009
No more than 384 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes, 22 seconds until voting closes at the next General Election. But don't worry because Gordon Brown says the recession will be over in 138 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes, 22 seconds. Although the IMF says it will last until 596 days, 10 hours, 20 minutes, 22 seconds. Visit http://alexmasterley.blogspot.com/ for comment on the financial crises.
National Socialism is a cruel creed. This is a new website exposing the unsavoury side of the BNP. http://www.nothingbritish.com/. "The BNP want you to believe that they are a moderate party who provide you with a protest vote against the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem parties. They are not. The party is built around a leadership and philosophy that wants British citizens deported just because of the colour of their skin."
Tuesday, 12 May, 2009
It costs Cambridge City Council at least £114,300 a year to stage its 24 area committees, which are attended by just 24 people on average. So taxpayers spend £195.70 per person to take part. The Area Committees need the axe.
Wednesday, 06 May, 2009
ID card scheme is unworkable, unwanted and unaffordable. They won’t stop a single crime, but would cause misery for law-abiding people as yet another tangle of red tape is dropped on them by an out-of-touch government. The database would be a one-stop-shop for fraudsters.
I am delighted that a Conservative government is pledged to scrap this scheme as quickly as possible.
Richard Normington
Friday, 01 May, 2009
Do we need two Bank Holidays in May? Especially if one is more associated with tanks trundling down Red Square than anything else? Personally, I’d move this weekend's Bank Holiday to October. It would spread the holidays across the year, filling the ghastly autumn gap when we all feel the strain. Trafalgar Day, 21 October, looks like a good alternative, as would Guy Fawkes on 5 November. On balance, I would say 'Rule Britannia' and raise a glass to Nelson and the Navy which kept us free from Napoleon's tyranny. Richard Normington
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