Would Conservatives support electoral reform if...

[Gromit]

...Labour came third in the count of votes cast, but Brown remained Prime Minister?

It is possible that Labour could come third in the number of votes cast at the election, and with the LibDems help, form a coalition and still be Prime Minister.

If that scenario happened, how could anyone support the present system?

[jno]

I did post yesterday about Churchill returning to power despite the Tories getting fewer votes nationwide than Labour; that seems way wrong. (I think one of Wilson's victories may have come the same way.) But for two minority parties to combine to outweigh the majority party actually seems a reasonably fair result; it would presumably reflect the fact that more people had voted against the Tories than for them.

In such circumstances, though, it would be up to the LibDems to decide who to support, and it mightn't be Brown.

[R1Geezer]

lets get it through our heads shall we. The numbers of votes each party gets is totally irrelevant. So can we stop it with the Twee cobblers. We have a system based on constituencies, that's how it works. if we had one based on percentages there would never have been a majority government and we'd be using wattle and daub.

The Tories would never go with PR even in Gromit's scenario.

The Libdems may well hold the balance of power but equally so could the ulster unionists give the Tories enough so they don't need them, let's wait till May 7th shall we.

If that scenario happenned gromit then that would be a shinning endorsement of the current system it'd have reporduced a PR style result without PR, wouldn't that make all the Libdems happy? How could anyone not support the current system.

Belive me even if Labour win I would never want the nightmare of PR.

[Gromit]

R1Geezer

The Ulster Unionist are not in much of a position to help the Tories. There is only one UUP MP and she is standing as an Independent because she doesn't agree with the UUP?Con pact. They were wiped out last time and are not expected to do much better, a couple or three MPs at most.

http://news.bbc.co.uk...n_ireland/8586845.stm

As a leftie, I would find it embarrassing if labour came 3rd in the popular vote, and Brown remained as PM. I'm surprised you could stomach that.

[R1Geezer]

well I would like it obviously Gromit but rather that than PR.

If there is a hung Parliament, it is traditionally the largest paty that first get's a go at forming a government, I expect that to be the Tories and no doubt Clegg would become cooperative with a decent job waved under his nose.