So who won? Resolving the democratic dilemma
Regular readers may be relieved to hear that I'll be back onto regular economics soon. If nothing else, even I will be bored of the election before long. But I have a couple more political articles to come first. The debate over forming a coalition to govern the UK seems to be mainly focused on the question of "who won?" Was it the Tories, because they are the largest single party with 36% of the vote (and 47% of the seats)? Was it a combination of Labour and Liberal Democrats, because together they represent over 50% of people? Or, similarly, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, who have about 59% between them? Should we reform the voting system so that the majority of votes always reflects a majority of parliamentary seats? All this debate ignores a deeper point. This is not a football match. The electoral system is not intended as a talent contest to award a prize to whoever can perform better and impress more people. It's meant to provide a way for the p...