Local East Riding election result insults voters

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 16th Jun 2007

In his answer to Alan Williams' question on fair votes in The Independent (11th June) David Cameron answered that 'the first past the post system is best placed to deliver a government with a clear agenda that is closest to what the country has voted for.' So much for his modernising agenda.

Without doubt local Tories benefited from a more media friendly leader and a deeply unpopular Labour government. But the Conservative majority is not justified by its electoral support. On 41% of the vote in the East Riding using our antiquated first past the post method (designed for an illiterate 19th century electorate in a two party state) the Tories gained 70% of the seats. This is a rotten system and it has to go because it leaves too many voters under-represented.

In Haltemprice & Howden on 51% of the vote the conservatives have 78% of the seats. A more proportional result, based on 6% of the vote receiving one seat, still amplified in Tory favour would have been Con 11, (51%) Lib Dem 6, (37%) Lab 1(7%).

But in the East Riding as a whole a more proportional result would have been something like Conservatives 28 (41%), Lib Dem 19 (28%), Lab 10 (14%), Others 11 (17%). This would have shown more respect to the preferences of the East Riding electorate.