FAIR VOTING From Sir Alan Herbert
SIR,—May 1, with constructive intent, say a few '1 told you so's? Nine months ago you kindly printed extracts from letters I had ventured to address to the last Prime Minister.
1. I predicted a large increase in 'minority' Members (then one hundred) if the Liberals ful- filled their promise of ubiquitous candidates. They didn't: but there are now, I reckon, 231 Members who were elected on a minority of the votes polled.
2. I said: 'You say "Vote Liberal and you let the Socialist in." Yes, but you can stop that very simply by bringing in the Alternative Vote. Why not?'
3. I said: 'One of your Ministers said recently: "The Liberals are declining." I have been hearing that for nearly fifty years. . . They get votes, they can swing elections, they deserve more seats—and fewer sneers.'
4: I said: 'You can't proscribe the Liberal Party . . . should we not, as practical people, make practical provision for a large number of many- cornered contests—so that we don't care, as prac- tical people, how many there are. Having done that, it would be your party's aim to capture at least two- thirds of the Liberals' second choices, and there must be something very wrong if your great non- Socialist party can't command a majority of other non-Socialists.'
5. I said : 'Is it wise to squash and snub the Liberals? They are More of a nuisance to Labour than they are to Conservative.' Mr. Woodrow Wyatt, the other day, on the authority of some well- known computer, said: 'The Liberal vote is becom- ing more dangerous to Labour than to the Con- servatives.'
6. I have now studied all the seventy-one minority seats won by Labour with the Liberal bottom. On the assumption that two-thirds of the Liberal second vote went to the Conservative the Conservatives would have won twenty-five of these seats. If they had got three-quarters they would have won seven more; and in numbers of their own seats their majorities would have been much bigger.
A. P. HERBERT 12 Hammersmith Terrace, W6
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