A new report by Electoral Reform Society Scotland says that both Labour and the SNP have benefited from a “predominant-party problem” in Scotland, and calls for a range of radical political reforms to ‘transform our political culture‘.
The report, ‘One Party To Rule Them All: Does Scotland Have A Predominant-Party Problem?’ was launched on Wednesday at a public event in Glasgow. It calls for:
- A written Scottish constitution, created through a massive public process similar to the independence referendum
- A ‘People’s Assembly’ second chamber of the Scottish Parliament, selected at random like a jury, with participants given ‘democratic leave’ from work to propose, scrutinise and amend legislation
- A change in the system of counting parliamentary seats from the “d’Hondt” to the “Saint-Lague” method, which will remove barriers to smaller parties
- Elected committee conveners in the Scottish Parliament, to ensure committees are less dependent on party patronage
- Proportional Representation across the United Kingdom, so that the diversity of Scottish opinion can be represented in the Westminster Parliament
- Introducing and expanding democratic decision-making across society, in policy making, trade unions, businesses, local governance, voluntary, campaigning and media organisations, sports clubs, shared housing and beyond.
These proposals are intended to provide ‘breathing space’ in which an alternative political culture can emerge, beyond what the report suggests is a ‘defensive’ preference for predominant parties which has given both Labour and the SNP overwhelming influence in Scottish politics.
The report follows the launch of ERS Scotland’s ‘2016 Scottish Election Briefing’ by Professor John Curtice, which stated that the SNP are likely to dominate both the constituency and the list vote in the upcoming election – with many of the regional votes ‘wasted’, according to Curtice.
Willie Sullivan, Director of ERS Scotland, said: ““This report shows that there’s nothing new about one party ruling the roost in Scotland. Labour were predominant for years, which let them take voters and their future for granted. They got too comfortable to respond properly to massive changes in the world around them in the 1980s and 1990s.
“If the SNP become too dominant, there’s a risk that our politicians become overly comfortable – and, potentially, secure enough to ignore the next wave of social change. Politics risks become subject to partisan ‘boom and bust’ if one party becomes as dominant as Labour was in the past.
“We hope this report and our proposals can help start a debate about the direction in which Scottish politics is going, and how we can foster a more self-critical and broad range of voices in a parliament designed for diversity. Political openness and the ‘rainbow politics’ of the 2003 Parliament is healthy and, rather than something to be feared, should be welcomed.”
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