Voters Unbound

Having been frankly bought off with the protection of its own seats, the DUP seems poised to vote for the boundary changes after all.

If the reduction in the number of Commons constituencies to 600 were indeed to occur, then the number of MPs might nevertheless remain the same, as the Executive is to do. The whole country could elect 50 MPs, with each of us voting for one candidate, and with the top 50 elected at the end. Candidates would not be nominees of political parties, but any party of which a candidate happened to be a member would be listed next to his or her name on the ballot paper, for the information of the voters. 

What would be the deposit to become such a candidate? There would not be one, as there ought not to be in general. Instead, the requirement to be a constituency candidate might be nomination by at least five per cent of the voters, while the requirement to be a national candidate might be nomination by at least 2000 registered parliamentary electors. In this day and age, obtaining that would cost little or nothing. Candidates for national MP would all be required to name a second, who would also be listed on the ballot paper, to take office in the event of the position's becoming vacant.

In the words of the old Tory battle cry, Trust The People.