We’re used to AV platform-sharing by now — so it’s not the fact that Chris Huhne
has written an article for the Observer alongside Labour’s John Denhan and the Green’s Caroline
Lucas that shocks. It’s the words he then puts his name to. “Britain consistently votes as a centre-left country and yet the the Conservatives have dominated our politics for two-thirds of the
time since 1900,” begins the article. “No wonder David Cameron says the current system ‘has served us well’,” it continues.
Although subsequent paragraphs are more conciliatory — claiming, for instance, that Tory voters in the north also suffer thanks to our electoral calculus — this is nonetheless a provocation to rile Huhne’s coalition colleagues. There’s an unforgiving subtext to the claim that “Yes to Fairer Votes is backed by progressives across the country” (which is: the Tories aren’t very nice).
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in