Electoral reform: AMS gets my vote  A proper debate must go
beyond first past the post and AV. Germany's additional member
system is a neat solution     • theguardian.com,     • Jump to
comments ()  As part of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat
coalition deal, voters have been promised a referendum on
changing the way we elect our MPs, from first past the post to
AV. But a proper debate must consider other voting systems. It
must also recognise and respect where each side is coming from
and their very different conceptions of representation.
Advocates of proportional representation – let's call them
proportionalists – rightly recognise that modern democracy is
party democracy. They believe that the parliamentary
representation accorded to political parties, and hence their
share of political power, ought to reflect the parties'
popularity amongst the public. Thus, if one party is backed by a
quarter of the population, that party ought to get a quarter of
MPs. Fair and simple.  Advocates of territorial represe