In Proportion

Will the Old and New Rights now come round on electoral reform? It took the Labour Left a long time. But much, possibly most, of it is there now.

We need 300 constituencies with equally sized electorates, straddling the United Kingdom's internal borders wherever possible, and using First Past The Post.

We need the 99 units that are the English ceremonial counties, the Scottish lieutenancy areas, the Welsh preserved counties and the Northern Irish counties to elect three MPs, with each of us voting for one candidate and the top three being declared elected.

And we need each of the 12 regions to elect five MPs in the same way.

657 MPs in all, much as now; I do not understand this obsession with having fewer of them.

But with no party permitted to contest more than one of the three types of election, nor any candidate permitted to do so at the same election.