Isn’t there a danger that PR is seen as a panacea for our democratic tiredness?
I agree that PR isn’t a panacea, but I do think it’s the most important part of a constitutional change agenda. It changes the culture of politics from an adversarial model and opens up a culture that is more pluralistic. Of course, we also need to reform the Lords, we need to do something about state funding, we need some kind of Bill of Rights and a written constitution – there are many elements that need to be put in place. But PR is the part that takes you from painting in black and white to painting in colour; it brings everything to life and makes new things possible in a politics that is about debate and consensus building. That’s what we want to see. But it’s going to be a tough challenge to get there and we shouldn’t think that PR will suddenly change everything – there will still be equality and sustainability to put back on to the agenda. The problem is that those things are off the agenda now because our electoral system means we only focus on voters in a few swing seats. Y
