Tim Garton Ash says we can and should vote now, not wait until May - & shows us how to do it.

Tim Garton Ash in his Guardian article, 20th Jan 2010, concludes;

My approach to this election is ­therefore to ask: what can it contribute to fundamental reform of the state we're in? How can I best use my vote and my voice to advance this change we really need? The answer is complicated, and the change will not come in a single step. Much will depend, for example, on whether the election produces a hung parliament, and if so, what variant of a hung parliament.

I'll come back to the voting options in another column, but meanwhile, if you share this goal, here are two things to watch and one to do.

A parliamentary committee chaired by Tony Wright has proposed some good reforms to strengthen the independence of parliament, its ability to scrutinise the government, and its responsiveness to public concerns. The Wright committee produced a draft resolution to be passed by the House of Commons, summarising its proposals, but forces in the two largest parties (not the Lib Dems) have been stalling it for two months. As the Guardian urged at the time, ­parliament should just get on and do the Wright thing.

Second, Brown yesterday repeated his commitment to a referendum, to be held only after this election, on introducing the Alternative Vote system for general elections. This is little and very late, but it could be attached as an amendment to a constitutional reform bill currently going through parliament, and might then still be passed in the legislative "wash up" before the election. It should be. It would stake a claim for electoral reform from which a Conservative government would find it harder to resile.

The thing you can do at once is go to www.power2010.org.uk/votes and vote for what you think are the top five political reforms that Britain needs. The Power 2010 movement will then confront parliamentary candidates with these demands, and try to persuade them to endorse them.

The more of us join in, the more oomph this campaign will have. As I write, the top five are

1) a proportional voting system,

2) scrapping ID cards and rolling back the database state,

3) fixed-term parliaments,

4) a written constitution, and

5) English votes for English laws – but that list can change when you all vote. No need to wait till May. This is an election you can hold today.

Re Brown's 'promise' - it's laughable after previous failed promises.  It was Brown and Prescott who twisted Blair's arm to get him to break the promise to bring Paddy Ashdown into the Cabinet.  What it really means is "No" because he knows like the rest of us that Labour will lose.

Now that the 'No to Fair Voting' people in the government have the upper hand the only thing that matters is ensuring that the Tory majority is kept as low as possible.  This means persuading people to vote tactically - for the greater good.

Go HERE to read Tim Garton Ash's Guardian article in full.

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