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Elections - 'get the facts right'
Two Conservative County Councillors wrote last week (Letters, 12 June) about what they refer to as "unintended consequences" of voting for minor parties.
First, it might be a good idea if they got their facts right. They mention "Burgess Hill West where 476 loyal BNP folk (voted]": from the results on the County Council website, they appear to mean Burgess Hill Town where there were 476 votes for UKIP — I don't think either party would like to be confused with the other!
Secondly, their assessment explicitly assumes that all votes for UKIP or the BNP would otherwise have gone to the Conservatives.
That assumption seems somewhat arrogant: UKIP and BNP voters could equally well have not voted at all, or voted for another candidate (it is often suggested that many BNP voters are disaffected Labour voters).
Maybe they were voting for 'anyone but Conservative'! Is it not also possible that some former Conservative voters switched to the Lib Dems?
Thirdly, they postulate, for example, that in Imberdown "412 anti EU UKIPers allow(ed] the election of a pro EU Lib Dem".
Is that worse than voting for a candidate from the pro-EU Conservative party (especially in the light of this weekend's confirmation that the Conservatives would not hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if the Irish accept it before the Conservatives can form a government)?
But also here, they are making the somewhat patronising assumption that voters cannot distinguish between local and national elections: a party's stance on the EU is not necessarily a very relevant factor when deciding on a competent local councillor.
Maybe some people think that the Lib Dems listen better to local people?
It is also patronising to assume that voters do not consider the possible side-effect of their votes.
It is certainly arrogant to state that "the election of another LDem lady (is not] what (BNP or UKIP voters] were seeking" in Burgess Hill West (sic]: how do the authors know that those voters were not voting against the Conservatives?
Finally, their summary of the total votes, as a basis for postulating what results proportional representation may have given, can have no validity whatsoever since UKIP and the BNP fielded candidates in only 4 out of 12 divisions, and the Greens in only 7 divisions (only 1 of which overlapped with UKIP or the BNP).
Based on their own assumptions, had there been more candidates in each division — which could well be the case with proportional representation — then the overall Conservative vote would have been lower.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to see that candidates for a party that has previously shown no interest in proportional representation are now suggesting that it would have given them a better result.
Trevor Dayneswood
Barn Cottage,
The Street,
Slinfold
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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