Referundum danger

The proposal by former British PM Gordon Brown to have a referendum on the electoral system is fraught with danger for Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats.

Brown proposes a referendum on the British first-past-the post system and the Australian preferential vote system.

A vote for the Australian system would be a death warrant for the Liberal Democrats.

The introduction of preferential voting in Australia (1919) has greatly strengthened the two-party system.

It has made it virtually impossible for minor parties and independents to be elected to the lower houses of parliament.

Only proportional representation, which is based on multi-member electorates, has the capacity to introduce party diversity into any parliament and produce democratic representation.

It would also mean the end of pork barrelling, by-elections, adversarialism and factional skull duggery.

The UK Liberal Democrats gained 23 per cent of the vote and ended up with 8.7 per cent of the seats.

If they want 23 per cent of the seats, the referendum should be about proportional representation.

If they look across the Channel, they'll find that 21 out of 28 European countries use proportional representation.

Email, 12 May 2010 Klaas Woldring, Pearl Beach