Bob was a valued contributor to West England Bylines and will be sorely missed. Our sympathy goes out to Bob’s family and friends.
Bob wrote with conviction about the need to reform our electoral system. Initially he pointed out the flaws in the First Past The Post (FPTP) system and proposed some kind of Proportional Representation (PR) to replace it. He also highlighted the impossibility under FPTP of an elected MP actually representing the majority of his constituents.
He followed this up with a second article exploring the possible improvements to the current versions of PR. The drawbacks of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) version could be overcome with the Votes-Weighted Representation (VWR) which would deliver a more precise degree of PR. He reasoned that this would protect against the ‘Party Capture’ syndrome which Labour are now exhibiting.
After this year’s election Bob wrote to Keir Starmer calling on him to restore trust in the electoral system, not only by reforming it but also by introducing citizens’ assemblies. He warned that delay may result in Labour not being in power long enough to enact such changes.
These three articles show Bob’s depth of thought and his concern for our democracy.
I’m sure I speak for all our writers in saying that Bob will be remembered as a champion of the values our brand of citizen journalism stands for.
Thanks Bob for everything!
Jon.
Here is a link to all Bob’s excellent articles in West England Bylines.
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