Guardian UK abandons Labour, endorse Lib/Dems.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

Bravo for the Guardian and the Lib/Dems for attempting to break up the two party monopoly.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/30/the-liberal-moment-has-come

General election 2010: The liberal moment has come

Proportional representation – while not a panacea – would at last give this country what it has lacked for so long: a parliament that is a true mirror of this pluralist nation, not an increasingly unrepresentative two-party distortion of it. The Guardian has supported proportional representation for more than a century. In all that time there has never been a better opportunity than now to put this subject firmly among the nation's priorities. Only the Liberal Democrats grasp this fully, and only they can be trusted to keep up the pressure to deliver, though others in all parties, large and small, do and should support the cause. That has been true in past elections too, of course. But this time is different. The conjuncture in 2010 of a Labour party that has lost so much public confidence and a Conservative party that has not yet won it has enabled Mr Clegg to take his party close to the threshold of real influence for the first time in nearly 90 years.

This time – with the important caveat set out below – the more people who vote Liberal Democrat on 6 May, the greater the chance that this will be Britain's last general election under a first-past-the-post electoral system which is wholly unsuited to the political needs of a grown-up 21st-century democracy.

The pragmatic caveat concerns the danger that, under the existing electoral system, switching to the Liberal Democrats in Labour-Conservative marginal constituencies might let in an anti-reform Tory party. So, voters who share this principled enthusiasm for securing the largest possible number of Liberal Democrat MPs next Thursday must, in many constituencies, weigh the tactical option of supporting Labour to prevent a Conservative win.

[ZeitgeistObserver]

1. So does Richard Dawkins, John le Carre etc.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/london-eye/martin-amiss-protest-vote/article1552522/

[miscsoc]

2. basically somewhat agree with this,

although i will be voting labour since i'm in a safe liberal seat and i want to fractionally increase labour's bargaining position by giving them an extra vote in the overall totals.

if clegg throws his lot in with the tories after all, however, i will be round the grauniad offices with a pitchfork and a torch.

[Captain Hilts]

4. I'm hesitant to get sucked in by the new, bright, shiny thing Clegg is, but I understand

folks that want to vote for his party because of the Afghanistan issue.

[truebrit71]

5. Best solution is in my other post...Clegg plays kingmaker..

...pass proportional representation as first order of business, and then bail from the coalition..that way the 2-party stranglehold will be gone forever..

[ZeitgeistObserver]

7. The only problem with that

is that PR won't be the first order of business, the economy will.

[truebrit71]

9. Depends on what is negotiated though..

..

[ZeitgeistObserver]

13. I don't know that there will be time to negotiate

such a thing. There are a lot of other immediate problems to deal with first.

Clegg may be lucky to have it the 31st order of business, possibly even the 301st the way politics and the economy work.

[truebrit71]

3. The closer this election gets the more I think Labour is doomed..

...for a generational type of loss...

Hopefully the Lib-Dems will get enough of a boost in the polls to be able to play knigmaker in a hung parliament..and then force through proportional representation as the first order of business..

Gordon Brown has turned out to be an absolute campaign disaster..

[Captain Hilts]

6. But Brown is not a governing disaster. I'm no big fan, but he's not elected to campaign.

I understand the appeal of wanting out of Afghanistan that Liberals have.

But my skin crawls whenever it comes down to 'style'.

[truebrit71]

8. I know..unfortunately "style" is becoming more and more important in Brit Politics..

...hence the airbrushed and plastic leader of the Tory party..

[Captain Hilts]

10. BINGO. Cameron reminds me of VA's gov. or MA's Brown. Ugh! nt

[MisterP]

11. "supporting Labour to prevent a Conservative win" is somewhat odd,

since there's two pigheaded Thatcherite parties--and this "tactical voting" not only guarantees that conservatives will win either way, but that conservatives will remain in charge of Labour; it also blames the LDs for any Con gains

BTW, Britain and Canada both have first past the post--yet also have three major parties! here FPTP is blamed for/used to excuse the two one-party system...

[truebrit71]

12. Tactical voting would disappear once and for all if there was proportional rep...

...and that is why I think whomever Clegg makes King HAS to push that issue through..

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Wow! that is amazing...Perhaps Clegg will become the next PM!!

Bodes well for a third party here in the US,