A Very Disconnected Elite
Saturday, May 07, 2011
If he expected the outcome to the referendum to be such a massacre, he would never have bargained for it. First past the post implies, nay demands, a two party system. So what little point there ever was to the LibDems (and - by the way - UKIP) is gone.
Nick Clegg is either part of a disconnected metropolitan elite that has no idea what the natives of these islands want. Or he's an idiot. Either way he is an amusing footnote to history.
Canada has FPTP, but it didn't stop the old Progressive Conservatives from being wiped out, and replaced by the more conservative Reform Party (which evolved into Harper's new Conservative Party). The Liberal Party (Labour equivalent) suffered a similar wipeout in the latest election, with the NDP (Lib Dem equivalent) forming the official opposition.
I think national temperament, history, and policies combine with the electoral system to decide the outcome. The game isn't up for UKIP. Unless the Conservatives change their approach to Europe, I will be prepared to waste my vote on UKIP again in 2015. By then many more may feel the same way.
Posted by: Suboptimal Planet | Saturday, May 07, 2011 at 03:05 PM
"First past the post implies, nay demands, a two party system. So what little point there ever was to the LibDems (and - by the way - UKIP) is gone."
To a certain extent true LD, however with matters EU increasing and if UKIP can do something about their presentation then all is not lost.
Posted by: WitteringWitney | Saturday, May 07, 2011 at 12:52 PM