Family Resemblance

Am I the only person who never reads anything in the News of the World apart from Fraser Nelson's column? Admittedly, I did make an exception this week, and revelled in the "apology". But I am afraid that his column missed the point that electoral reform could, and indeed would have to, result in the emergence of more diverse political formations as serious electoral forces. And then there was what are increasingly becoming two rather tired points.

One was that compulsory voting in Australia was because AV was so unpopular, not in fact the reason at all. And the other was that AV was used to "elect the Presidents of Papua New Guinea and Fiji". There is no President of Papua New Guinea, where the Head of State is the same as in, among other places, Australia and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the President of Fiji is in reality elected by the Great Council of Chiefs, which acknowledges a Paramount Chief whose image therefore appears on the currency and on the stamps. Bearing in mind that the Union Flag remains in the corner of that of Fiji, and that that country continues to supply a healthy number of troops to the British Army, can you guess who that Paramount Chief might be?

Papua New Guinea and Fiji do, however, use AV for parliamentary elections.

Vote Yes.