 |
| Summer Reading List on proportional representation systems July 2010 |
|
| In advance of the proposed referendum on reform of the electoral system for the House of Commons – between First Past the Post (FPTP) and the Alternative Vote (AV) system – the result of the Coalition Agreement between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leadership in May, this bibliography has been compiled to illustrate the different electoral systems. Most documents are available online. It is not exhaustive. |
|
 |
|
| The Report of the Independent Commission on the Voting System (Jenkins Report),established following the Labour Party’s 1997 manifesto commitment, published 1998 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Voting Systems: the Jenkins Report House of Commons Library research paper on the Jenkins Report, 1998 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Independent Commission on the Voting Systems: House of Commons response on the Jenkins Report, 1998 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Report of the Independent Commission on Proportional Representation |
|
| The Commission was established following Labour's manifesto commitment to review the experience of Britain's new voting systems before holding any referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons |
|
|
|
|
|
| Power to the People, the report of Power, An Independent Enquiry into Britain’s Democracy : Power was set up to explore how political participation and involvement might be increased and deepened in Britain, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
| The governance of Britain, Review of Voting systems: The experience of new voting systems in the UK a review by the Justice Ministry of elections in all parts of the UK under the differing systems introduced since 1997, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Reforming the House of Lords: Breaking the Deadlock: “ The purpose of this report is to kick-start the Lords reform process, and to demonstrate that such a consensus is possible. We have come together, as representatives of all three main parties, to present a set of practical proposals that we believe can command majority support”, 2007 |
|
|
|
|
|
| PR Myths, Professor Vernon Bogdanor and Lewis Baston, Electoral Reform Society: “No political issue attracts more fallacious arguments than proportional representation…” |
|
|
|
|
|
| What is STV? Electoral Reform Society: “ No electoral system is perfect. Some, however, are more perfect than others. We believe that where candidates are being elected to multiple vacancies, STV offers voters the best and most effective choice.” |
|
|
|
|
|
| A Better Alternative, What AV would mean for Westminster, Lewis Baston, Electoral Reform Society: “the Alternative Vote (AV) is very much like First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). Like FPTP, it is used to elect representatives for single-member constituencies, except that rather than simply marking one solitary 'X' on the ballot paper, the voter has the chance to rank the candidates on offer. |
|
|
|
|
|
| The European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs: will make proposals through an EU inter-governmental conference for a reform of Euro-elections |
|
|
|
|
|
| European Democracies an in-depth look at the EU's different democratic systems. Electoral Reform Society, 2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
| New Zealand – from FPTP to Mixed Member Proportional Representation |
|
| In 1993 New Zealanders voted in a referendum to change their voting system from the traditional first-past-the-post (FPP) method to Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP). How, and why, did this dramatic change come about? |
|
|
|
|
|
| Australia’s various systems: |
|
|
|
| An overview of Australia’s systems: |
|
|
|
| A short history of voting reform: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Books to buy: |
| |
| Unlocking Democracy: 20 years of Charter 88 a series of essays edited by Peter Facey that looks back at what has been achieved and, even more importantly, seeks to identify what needs to be done now, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Choosing an Electoral System , A 2010 report by the British Academy Policy Centre, prepared by Professor Simon Hix, Professor Ron Johnston FBA and Professor Iain McLean FBA with research assistance from Angela Cummine: identifies the characteristics of the variety of electoral systems used around the world, and discusses their implications for issues such as: voter turn-out; minority parties; party politics; proportionality; and effective government. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Refreshing the Parts, Electoral Reform and British Politics, Lawrence and Wishart, Gareth Smyth: comprises a mixture of political reflection and argument with facts, quotes, polling evidence on public attitudes and original research - including a guide to the different forms of proportional representation |
|
|
|
|
|
| The People and the Party System, Electoral Reform and British Politics, Vernon Bogdanor 1981, Cambridge Books: offers a comprehensive critique of the historical debate on the referendum and electoral reform in British politics from the nineteenth century to 1981. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| To Keep or To Change First Past The Post?: The Politics of Electoral Reform by André Blais:addresses the following questions: What fosters or hinders reform of first past the post? When and why does reform emerge on the political agenda? Who proposes and who opposes reform? When and why do reform proposals succeed or fail? What kind of proposal tends to be put on the table? Are some types of proposal more likely to succeed? 2008 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Our Fight for Democracy : we think of the United Kingdom as a long established democracy. Yet in this book John Strafford shows how we now face a huge democratic deficit, 2009 |
|
|
|
|
|
| The Plan: Britain is heading in the wrong direction. The British people are giving up on politics and politicians. Here is a plan to renew Britain written by Douglas Carswell MP and Daniel Hannan MEP, 2009 (downloadable) |
|
|
|
|
|
