Author Archives: Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones

Opinion: Lib Dems should not shelve House of Lords reform

By Andrew Jones | Tue 10th May 2011 - 11:56 am

Despite our best efforts, we Liberal Democrats failed last Thursday to make electoral reform sexy. Quelle surprise. The economy is faltering, public services have a shaky future and, frankly, how people vote for their MP’s is not of major concern to the British people.

Using my trusty retrospectoscope, I can tell you that the Yes campaign got the message wrong, and it did not resonate with people. The campaign went for the anti-politics, anti-politician approach of saying they were offering the people a way to make their MP’s work harder and suffer more. Britons shrugged. The fundamental nature in which politics …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 14 Comments
Andrew Jones

Opinion: The Flawed Logic of No to AV, Yes to PR

By Andrew Jones | Tue 5th April 2011 - 11:28 am

As a supporter and campaigner for a Yes vote in the referendum on the 5th of May, I have often faced the argument that, “I support a proportional system, but AV is not proportional, so I will be voting No”. A prima facie logical argument – if you do not like AV, then why on earth would you vote for it? Big names in the world of electoral reform have signed up to this “No to AV, Yes to PR” ethos, including Lord David Owen, one of the Gang of Four. According to the No to AV, Yes to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 26 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Alex Macfie
    "those on the left don’t tend to see individuals but see people as members of identity groups," so do many on the Right, using "identity groups" to divide peo...
  • Jana
    My son-in-law is a police officer. He tells me that there is no point arresting shop-lifters as they always get bailed and will be shop-lifting again within the...
  • Jason Connor
    Well done for putting in the effort in an inner London constituency, and showing how it can be done. There have been similar issues in Greenwich where the rulin...
  • Jason Connor
    I so agree with David Raw. Middle England is not the only constituency worth targeting likewise for Scotland and Wales. Left behind areas and those with und...
  • Jason Connor
    "Treating people as individuals" - these traits can and are seen by people on the left. Social liberalism is not a classic centre right liberal philosophy. It i...