FTFP has implications beyond the council chamber

The flawed nature of the first past the post electoral system has implications beyond who sits in the numerous council chambers around the country. The ruling bodies of a number of organisations are drawn from the membership of various local authorities, thus further perpetuating this unfair representation.

For example, the Essex Fire Authority has its members drawn from Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Borough Council. Of its twenty-five members twenty are Conservative, and five are Liberal Democrats.

Essex is admittedly a county dominated by the Conservatives. But to have no Labour representation does not represent the views of the voters. This year has so far been a disastrously poor year electorally for Labour, yet still in June’s county elections in Essex Labour polled 11.5% (the Conservatives were on 42.8% and the Liberal Democrats 20.1%).

Using these figures you would expect Labour to have around three persons represented on the EFA, and the Conservatives would have eleven.

I do not suppose many realise when casting their vote that it is not just who sits in the council chamber that is decided at election time.