The ability to carry out consensual reforms, rather
than having to go through revolutions, is one of the
most precious advantages of democracy. Government is most effective
and benign when the ties between the rulers and the
governed are the closest. Previous
electoral reforms have broadened the ranks of electors,
eliminating property requirements, extending the vote to
all adult men, then women. Your work will, I hope,
propose a way to significantly tighten the links
between electors and legislators by changing how the
legislators are elected, rather than adding to the ranks
of the electorate. It is to be an improvement in quality, rather
than in quantity. You have an important role to play and a
great responsibility to all of us.
Local representation and proportionality create strong
geographical and thematic links between the legislature
and the public. We have the first, we lack the second. I
hope that you will propose a system of voting which incorporates
both of the above principles -- the Mixed Member
Proportional system used in Germany and New Zealand, and also
recently recommended by the Law Commission of Canada --
would be an improvement over the existing system.
I also pray that your report be taken seriously by
those who will have the power to implement it.
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