Out of proportion
The bill to reform the House of Lords looks like being another failed attempt by Liberal Democrats to bring proportional representation to Westminster. But where did the idea of PR come from?
— The first such system was proposed by Louis Antoine Saint-Just, a deputy in France’s National Convention after the revolution. The suggestion was beaten down by Robespierre.
— The first public election by PR was in Adelaide in 1840, instigated by Sir Rowland Hill, inventor of the postage stamp, while secretary of the Colonisation Commission of South Australia. He was inspired by a system used by his father, a Worcestershire schoolmaster, to elect committees.
— Party lists, proposed to Geneva Council in 1842 by French utopian socialist Victor Considerant, were first used in elections in the Swiss canton of Ticino in 1890.
Golden parachutes
Bob Diamond, former chief executive of Barclays PLC, saw his parting bonus reduced from £20m to £2m.
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