MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL AND ELECTORAL
REFORM.
ITo THE EDITOR OP TRH " SPROTATOR.1 Sin,—The very significant reply given by Mr. Winston Churchill on Saturday last to the deputation which waited upon him at Manchester on the subject of electoral reform 'Was very inadequately reported in the London Press, and, in view of its importance, may I direct the attention of your readers to its concluding paragraph I am inclined," said Mr. Churchill, "to think that the pro- portional representation of great cities is a point upon which electoral reformers ought to concentrate their minds, but I don't wish to dogmatise on a point so complex nor commit myself without the power of profiting by the information that will come from the Report of the Commission [on Electoral Systems]. But when you get a great city like Birmingham, in which many thousands of Liberals for many years have not been able to return a single representative, and a great city like Manchester, in which the other aides are less represented than their numbers naturally entitle them to in view of their full aggregate strength, we do see the existence of anomalies which all who believe that democracy only works efficiently when it finds its true expression would like to see removed."
Mr. Churchill's utterance marks a step in advance; his suggestion is most valuable, for, apart from the disfranchise- ment of minorities, "the present system has clearly broken down" in the great cities. Here, at least from the electoral standpoint, we have three organised parties, and it has been demonstrated beyond question that no system other than a proportional system can do justice to the claims of three parties to representation. Mr. Churchill has, therefore, good grounds for suggesting that we should commence with pro. portional representation in the great cities. Continental experience, however, has shown that as soon as the propor- tional method has become necessary it is desirable to make it as comprehensive as circumstances will permit. The thinly populated areas in the North of Finland and of Sweden form an exception to the general application of proportional representation in those countries, but these exceptions are justified on these grounds alone. Mr. Churchill's suggestion, which doubtless includes the application of the system to the more thickly populated county areas, could be acted upon if neither party gained an advantage therefrom. Discussion will, however, probably reveal the fact that this partial application will not be acceptable unless pro- vision is made for the representation of the minority in Wales, and the demand, if formulated, would have to be met. Nor could Ireland be wholly excluded, for oven if the over- whelming predominance of the Nationalists be admitted, yet a system of proportional representation would enable minorities to take an effective part in elections.
No adjustment of our electoral system will be either satis- factory or permanent which does not secure to the House of Commons a fully representative character. The only practical difficulty is that involved in the increased size of constituencies, and this difficulty, which has many compensating advantages, cannot for ever stand in the way of a satisfactory electoral system. Nor should it be overlooked that a system of pro- portional representation will greatly simplify the problem of redistribution, which must be a feature of that comprehensive measure of electoral reform to which the Government is so deeply pledged.—I am, Sir, &c., JOHN H. HUMPHREYS,
Hon. Secretary, the Proportional Representation Society. 107 dfigernon Bead, Lewisham, all.
Previous page
