Our re-elected MP Simon Hoare has praised North Dorset voters for not falling for Labour and Lib Dem election promises – but the Labour and Lib Dem candidates between them received more votes than he did. In reducing Simon’s 2019 majority by 93% this time, most voters clearly remembered the past 14 years of scandal-ridden Conservative chaos, corruption and incompetence.
Worryingly, almost a third of the North Dorset electorate opted not to vote this time. No doubt many of them are disillusioned with the way the First Past The Post electoral system fails to provide a parliamentary voice for the majority of us.
Simon was chosen to represent North Dorset by just a third of those who voted: likewise, Labour gained their landslide victory with just a third of the national votes.
The new All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections focuses on three key areas: replacing First Past the Post with a proportional voting system, eliminating dark money from politics and countering disinformation in public debate. Good luck to them in their search for an electoral system that works better for everyone.
Labour hasn’t made a great start so far, especially with the clumsy scrapping of the automatic winter fuel payment for pensioners. Revelations about various donations and services they’ve received have left them open to the criticism that they are no better than the Tories in that respect. Labour actually declared more donations during the general election campaign than all the other parties combined. It has increasingly strong ties with the financial sector, and before the election campaign it received a £4m donation from a tax-haven-registered hedge fund with shares in fossil fuels, private health firms and arms manufacturers. This surely raises questions about what influence such donors hope to get in return.
The one topic that unites a majority of us is a growing concern for the environment and the worsening effects of the changing climate, and here there is a glimmer of hope. The new Foreign Secretary’s recent speech demonstrated a clear ambition to urgently address these issues. However, actions as ever speak louder than words, and we wait to see what actions the government actually takes.
Ken Huggins
North Dorset Green Party
