Fairer electoral system means more happy voters

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/26/fairer-electoral-system-means-more-happy-voters

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Your editorial (Electoral reform would shake up Britain’s one-party states, 23 February) ignores the most important advantage of a more effective electoral system – greater voter satisfaction.

This is the key conclusion of the 2015 paper Changing the Political Map of Britain by Lewis Baston and Martin Linton. Before the single transferable vote (STV) was introduced in Scotland, barely half of electors there had the satisfaction of electing their choice to local authorities, a proportion similar to that in English counties. With the introduction of STV for the 2007 and 2012 council elections, these “happy voters” jumped to 74% and 76%. When second and subsequent preferences were taken into account, voter satisfaction climbed to 90%.

The Welsh assembly is now empowered to reform the electoral system there, and could well follow the successful Scottish example. Northern Ireland has long since benefited from a preferential system. For how long will English voters tolerate a totally inadequate and obsolete form of local democracy?Paul TylerHouse of Lords; Liberal Democrat spokesman for constitutional and political reform