Conservatives recruit Aussie to stop electoral reform

It's amazing how desperate and what lengths Conservatives in England and Canada will go to get in the way of democratic renewal and reform, and specifically electoral reform. Conservatives are well aware that the antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system, which was designed for two-party systems in the 19th century, is an undemocratic winner-take-all system in which a party who captures approximately 40% of the vote can then win 60% of the seats in parliament. Anyways, a small group including two Conservative MPs, Bernard Jenkin and George Eustice, and James Frayne, the Taxpayers' Alliance former campaign director, have recruited right-wing Australian pollster Lynton Crosby to launch a campaign against electoral reform in Great Britain. The Conservatives want an antiquated and undemocratic electoral system (first-past-the-post) to remain in place in order for the Conservative Party to continue to win false majority governments and rule as a de facto dictatorship, as that's what majority governments elected with less than 50% of the electorate are: de facto dictatorships. From the Guardian:

The Australian pollster Lynton Crosby is working with a group of experienced Tory activists to draw up a campaign to block any change to the voting system when the issue is put to a referendum.

A referendum was demanded by the Liberal Democrats as a condition of their joining a Tory-led coalition and is expected next May. A no vote would be a serious blow to Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, and could lead to calls for him to pull out of the coalition.

A small group of Tory activists involved in two referendum campaigns — against the Euro and a regional assembly in the north-east — are meeting to draw up messages arguing for a no vote to any change in the voting system. The group is looking to raise £100,000 to set up a campaign office and to fund focus groups.

The campaign team includes two Tory MPs, Bernard Jenkin and George Eustice, as well as James Frayne, former campaign director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, who directed the no campaign against a regional assembly in the north-east, a referendum won by 78% to 22% in 2004, a resounding defeat for then deputy prime minister, John Prescott.

Frayne is skilled at running effective populist messages, and most polls show uncertainty on the issue.

There have been suggestions that Boris Johnson, the London mayor, might become a frontline figure. But his office said he had become agnostic about voting reform. Crosby advised Johnson for his mayoral election campaign and was a key figure in the 2005 Tory election team led by Michael Howard.

Frayne said: "The lessons of the recent referendum campaigns on the euro and the regional assembly are clear. The most important things are getting the message right through extensive opinion research and creating a structure which can make the right decisions quickly. Anything that gets in the way of this must be avoided.

"For this reason, while the campaign will inevitably make use of politicians, it can't be led by them because they end up worrying about things like internal party politics. Psychologically it's crucial the campaign leaders remember the organisation closes the day after the referendum.

"We are starting to create the campaign now, developing the message and raising money to put the campaign infrastructure in place. We are keen to get moving now so we can take the yes campaign head on as quickly as possible."

Frayne is concerned figures such as Johnson will hold back on attacking the yes campaign for fear a no-holds-barred campaign might fracture the coalition and damage relations between Clegg and David Cameron. The prime minister and the deputy prime minister will have to navigate a referendum campaign in which the two men are arguing from different positions.

Cameron has said he will express his view, but not be front and centre of the no campaign. The campaign is looking at messages that avoid abstract debates about the virtues of voting systems, and wants to focus on the impact they could have, appealing to a perception that the alternative vote system would lead to more coalitions, and that coalitions are less responsive to voters and therefore more likely to raise income tax.

The campaign may also warn that AV could turn the Lib Dems into the permanent kingmakers of politics, and Clegg will see AV as the first step to a fully proportional system that will undermine the link between the constituency and the MP.

Most Lib Dems believe it is best to press on with the referendum soon, before the coalition has become unpopular. They will have the support of Labour, but there are likely to be splits inside the party. The most likely date is May next year, coinciding with local elections.