For and against PR

'The fact that the Westminster legislative process had to be explained on national radio speaks volumes. That is because it is a great mystery to most people. Indeed, it is a mystery to many hon. Members as well.' Anne Begg, MP for Aberdeen South, Hansard, 13 th January 1998.

Blair targets Scotland as future voting test-bed</h2>

By Ken Smith in the Herald

The Scots guinea pigs will have two new electoral systems at which to wield their little black pencils next year and if there is chaos and confusion then it could prove a significant setback for any changes at Westminster.

Next year, of course, there will be the first Scottish Parliament elections carried out under a form of proportional representation which has some similarities to the Jenkins report.

Then there are the European elections which, for the first time, will mean Scotland being treated as one voting area and the votes being distributed proportionately amongst the parties.

After that, there will be local government elections in a traditional first past the post system.

If the public votes in a referendum for a proportional representation system for Westminster, then Scots will have four different voting methods. Opponents of change say there is the danger of voter confusion, leading to disinterest and fewer people voting.

Supporters of change say that is rubbish and that it is patronising to suggest Scots voters cannot cope with more than one system.

In a sense, there will be a feeling of deja vu in Scotland. Jenkins proposes two votes at a General Election - one for the constituency MP, and one for the "top-up" candidates to make the result more proportional.

That is similar to what is already happening for the Scottish Parliament - but with two crucial differences. The number of top-up MPs under Jenkins will be far lower than in the Scottish Parliament, making it less proportional, but making it easier for a party to win overall control.

He suggests 13 compared to the 56 for the Scottish Parliament.

In addition, the first vote will not simply be first past the post but will be by an Alternative Vote. In other words, instead of a simple cross, voters will write 1, 2, and 3 etc, so that the votes of the lowest candidates are redistributed until someone passes the 50% mark.

Jenkins has an even bigger problem for Scotland. In order to set aside seats for the top-up votes, he wants to reduce the number of UK constituencies and bring the Scottish ones, numerically smaller, more in line with England.

Specific figures are not mentioned but the number of Scottish constituencies at Westminster is already going to be reduced because of the Scottish Parliament. If they are reduced further under Jenkins, then there may be dissent.

In addition, Mr Blair wants the Scottish Parliament constituencies to be the same as the Westminster constituencies, so Jenkins would have the indirect effect of further reducing the number of Members of the Scottish Parliament.

Now the fight will go to the country. Already the SNP's Margaret Ewing and the Scottish Liberal Democrats' Charles Kennedy have become primary movers in Make Votes Count, a cross-party group pushing for the Jenkins Report to be adopted. - Oct 30