In that case, Trump won with less of the popular vote than his

Electoral reform will not enable the far right

canada goose outlet It is now clear that a core assertion the side in the electoral reform referendum will endlessly repeat in the coming months is that proportional representation should be rejected because it will canada goose uk black friday enable far right or political parties. canada goose outlet

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The likelihood that we will see extreme, right wing parties gain a foothold in our province if British Columbians choose Canada Goose Online to embrace proportional representation this fall are virtually zero.

canada goose outlet online uk Throughout the past century, democracies around the world have wrestled with the scourge of far right, fascist and xenophobic political parties whose prominence tends to ebb and canada goose clearance flow with political and economic events. Their political however, has had canada goose black friday sale nothing to do with the electoral system. canada goose outlet buy canada goose jacket online uk

No electoral system canada goose has a monopoly on either preventing or fostering far right parties, and those Canada Goose sale advancing claims to the contrary are merely cherry picking examples to make mischief in this referendum.

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canada goose outlet in usa Our current first past the post (FPTP) electoral system is actually the exception not the norm among democratic countries. canada goose outlet in usa

canada goose outlet canada Most democracies employ some form of proportional representation. canada goose factory sale elected Donald Trump under a FPTP system. In that case, Trump won with less of the popular vote than his opponent Hillary Clinton. elected Margaret Thatcher with a false majority (she first won 100 per cent of the power with 44 per cent of the popular vote), the first hardcore neo liberal government of the post WWII era; India under FPTP most recently elected the Modi government with a false majority (100 per cent of the power with 31 per cent of the popular vote), whose Hindu nationalist BJP party is seen as neo fascist by many; And then there is Canada. Our antiquated FPTP system has given false majorities to the likes of Stephen Harper, Gordon Campbell, Mike Harris, and most recently Doug Ford, all of whom received 100 per cent of the power to impose their austerity agendas. In some cases, conservative parties elected under FPTP have quietly accommodated ultra canadian goose jacket right elements within their big tents, granting these tendencies considerable power within our existing system (witness Trump inclusion of alt right elements within his Republican government, or the Harper government dog whistle appeals to anti immigrant tendencies). canada goose outlet canada

canada goose outlet sale So it worth considering: What is better knowing what power these uk canada goose far right groups have because we can count their electoral seats and read the terms of a minority government policy program in black and white (as occurs under proportional representation), or having these groups lurk in the shadows of big tent conservative parties without knowing how much political clout they wield? canada goose canada goose store outlet sale

canada goose outlet Canada Goose Outlet nyc This is not Canada Goose online to suggest that FPTP inherently produces more hard right governments. But rather, contending that FPTP will somehow save us from far right political elements is rubbish. canada goose outlet nyc

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canada goose outlet online The more relevant point is, historically speaking, whenever we have seen the emergence of far right and neo Nazi parties, it is clear they are a product not of the electoral system, but of neo liberal policies and austerity. cheap Canada Goose canada goose outlet online

canada goose outlet black friday This was most infamously true of Germany in the 1930s when Hitler National Socialist (Nazi) party capitalized on the humiliations that came with punishing economic http://www.mycanadagoosejacket.org reparations and depression after the First World War. saw an upswing canada goose uk outlet in neo Nazi movements under Thatcher cuts. More recently, in Greece, the neo Nazi Golden Dawn party has made political gains (winning seven per cent of the vote in 2015) in the face of punishing austerity imposed by Greece debt holders. canada goose outlet black friday

canada goose black friday sale There are proportional representation countries like Austria, Hungary and Poland where far right political parties have won disturbingly canada goose coats high seat counts. But these countries don have an electoral system problem, they have a neo Nazi problem, or they have right wing populist parties that would likely win regardless of the electoral Canada Goose Coats On Sale system. canada goose black friday sale

canada goose outlet jackets Some European countries are wrestling with a rise in anti immigrant, right wing parties. But this is driven by the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War (combined canada goose outlet with austerity policies that leave people susceptible to scapegoating), not by the electoral system. With a few exceptions, their political systems are keeping these despicable parties at bay. For example, in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders far right Party of Freedom came in second in their most recent election, but the other parties have joined forces to keep it sidelined. canada goose outlet jackets

canada goose Canada Goose Jackets outlet uk sale Politics and platforms matter much more than electoral systems when it comes to scuttling the far right. as we decide what electoral system to embrace? canada goose outlet uk sale

official canada goose outlet First, we really have nothing to fear. official canada goose outlet

canada goose outlet toronto factory Second, with the three proportional representation options that will be on the ballot this fall, the new system will require that a party receive at least five per cent of the vote province wide to be able to win a seat. This minimum threshold provides a safeguard against fringe parties getting into canada goose uk shop the legislature. canada goose outlet toronto factory

canada goose outlet store So there is no need to vote from a place of fear this fall. Vote for what you want. And then liberate yourself to vote your conscience from then on canada goose outlet store.