AV

[jimcee]

What with Easter, and a wedding thingy and an upcoming election, it's all happening.
It seemed an appropriate time to post a new subject on to the site to maybe stir up some reaction.
Without getting into the nitty gritty of party politics it seemed that a word or two on AV might be appropriate.
I personally would get considerable pleasure in grading the prospective candidates from "looks reasonably honest" down to "not over my dead body".
From this you could take that as a qualified YES.

[NickB]

.
You do realise that the referendum on AV is using a First Past The Post system to determine the result, don't you?

[MonaLott]

I agree about the pleasure of ranking candidates and about the good feeling that my vote is perhaps counting just a little bit.
As for the wedding, what an irrelevant Anglo-bore!

[NickB]

As for the wedding, what an irrelevant Anglo-bore!

It seems that Glaswegians certainly agree with you Mona - of the 5,500 applications for street party licenses throughout the UK precisely none have come from Glasgow.

[hoopster1888]

i was gonna apply for one, but then i thought did any of the royal family have a street party for mine???

no they didnt !!!

and as for in glasgow , i think they had their street party yesterday !! well at least three quarters of ibrox did anyway with their little union flags!!!

and how many of them actually care about the royal wedding as opposed to doing it just to wind up the opposition fans ??

anyway rant over
ynwa!!!

[jimcee]

This thread seems to be degenerating into a preamble about the lack of interest hereabouts into the upcoming nuptials later this week.
This was not my intention in posting the original bit on AV, which I though was of more interest than another attempt by royalty to prove that the sanctity of marriage had some significance, despite previous disasters in that field.
. Could I probably take our esteemed moderator to task to point out that every referendum contains a simple YES / NO alternative and is not strictly "first past the post" as with multiple choices. In a referendum MAYBE and POSSIBLY are not alternative options and abstaining is either an indication of indifference or laziness.
Back to AV - One of the criticisms levelled against it by the NO faction is the extra cost it would entail, but this is just a drop in the bucket compared to the coffers that the political parties are willing to sacrifice to get their own into power.

[Eric the Viking]

I'll be voting for AV - it's far from perfect but it IS 'electoral reform' - anything to get rid of the archaic system we alone seem to use.

As an aside if AV had it been in place in 1979 I doubt Thatcher would have laid waste to Scotland.

...and you don't not have to rank candidates. If you only want to vote for one candidate then only rank one candidate.

[NickB]

I'll be voting for AV - it's far from perfect but it IS 'electoral reform' - anything to get rid of the archaic system we alone seem to use.

As an aside if AV had it been in place in 1979 I doubt Thatcher would have laid waste to Scotland.

...and you don't not have to rank candidates. If you only want to vote for one candidate then only rank one candidate.

In Australia they use full preferential AV, which means it is a legislative requirement for all preferences to be marked for a ballot to be counted as valid. Optional preferential AV is what we are being offered, whereby as Eric says voters are not required to express a preference for every candidate; if they wish, they can express a preference for only one.

Presumably if everyone expressed only one preference (i.e. only voted for one candidate) then this would be no different to the current FPTP system.

[jimcee]

I find it hard to believe that given the differencies in the manifestos of the parties and the character of the indiviual candidates that there would be few voters who would not welcome the chance to have a second best, or third and fourth, given the choice.
Also, it gives the voter the chance to give their vote to an outsider who they would really like to represent them, but who hasn't a hope in hell of getting elected and will lose their deposit anyway, and thereafter in second slot the candidate or party who has a chance of enacting the things they hold dear.
So be it. If AV wins the day then we can live with those who cannot countenance giving even any other candidate or party second place - they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

[longshanks]

As for the wedding, what an irrelevant Anglo-bore!

Do we have to go back to an antiEnglish undercurrent on this forum. I thought we got rid of that a couple of years ago.
Mona; there are many, many English people living here and on Easdale; even the owner of this website is English born and bred; I lived in England for much of my life. It can't be very nice to be an English person living here and to read snide antiEnglish comments on our Community website.

Loyal Shanks (anti-racist by choice)

[NickB]

even the owner of this website is English born and bred

I'll accept the 'born' bit - not sure about the bred

Long time no hear, Longshanks. I have to say I tend to agree with you on this one. And - I am not so sure that the Wedding is an 'Anglobore', more of a straightforward Britbore for those of a republican persuasion. Even El Salmundo, as the boy Dave has taken to calling him, intends retaining the Queen as head of state after independence.

[MonaLott]

A bit touchy, Longshanks. No need to have a chip on your shoulder 'cause you're English! I was merely referring to the published statistical info showing that interest and public activities are heavily concentrated south of the border.

[DonnieC]

To get back to Jim's topic

A V is not for me!!!!- pointlessly complicated!!!!

As for the other event today i.e. not last night's earth tremor, I found it trully farcical.

There are a lot of people, tv/radio interviewers, interviewees and the general public really deluded by today's events.

What an inglorious waste of public money - please be aware that you and I all paid for this.

It was impossible to acquire real news today on the tv-even Aljazeera had it on virtually nonstop. Surely situations in the Near and Middle East are far more important.

Anglo/Brit/Republic/phobe/bore - ain't going there-think you can tell where my feelings lie!!

I wish Billy and Kate every good wish in their marriage as I would any couple getting married in today's climate but today's events leave me very angry.

Back to Theakston's Old Peculier - rant over!!!!!!!!!

[Minimum]

Rather amused to read that you actually watched it then! Thanks for the update.

[jimcee]

AV - complicated?
If I go into a supermarket to buy a tin of my favourite baked beans (say Heinz for example) and they have completely sold out of Heinz. However they do have Branston which I have always liked, so I put a tin of Branston in my shopping trolley.
So you could say that Heinz would be my first choice and if they are unavailable I would prefer Branston.
That's really all there is to AV as far as the voter is concerned - giving us a second or third best choice if with our first choice we back someone who cannot appeal to at least half the voters.
Admittedly there may be a bit more work involved for these people we see at the counting desks when the election closes, but with unemployment figures being a worry, surely as Tesco would have us believe "every little helps"

[DonnieC]

Jim, try the Coop for your Heinz beans - after all their sogan is 'Good for Everyone!'

...........just like AV!

Minimum, I actually was driving at the time of the event so didn't actually see the live event but it was on the radio also. It was imossible to avoid, anywhere. Even this morning it's still being carried by many channels.

Did anybody else hear Radio Scotland's broadcast on Friday morning and the unfortunate verbal faux pas by one of the commentators concerning the names of some of the horses and their 'jockeys?'

As I don't want my address to be c/o the Tower, London, I cannot repeat what was said on this forum but a private audience in TnT over a pint would be enough to loosen the tongue!!

[jimcee]

While not wishing to get bogged down in the relative merits of supermarkets, I only chose Baked Beans as a example to illustrate a point.
However, it may be of some interest to readers of these columns to know that currently the Co-Op are retailing Branston (4 pack) at about half the price of the market leader Heinz - and in a recent survey by "Which", Branston actually pipped Heinz as being best for taste.
In this particular case the Co-Op can live up to their motto "Good with Food".
Enough of all this blatant advertising.

[longshanks]

A bit touchy, Longshanks. No need to have a chip on your shoulder 'cause you're English! .de I was merely referring to the published statistical info showing that interest and public activities are heavily concentrated south of the border.

You just don't get it do you Mo a my friend.

Clint Shanks (Punk by choice) n n nnnnnnnnn

[jimcee]

This slanging match between Longshanks and Monalot does not seem to be progressing the debate to any great extent and does not really enthuse the readers with any great desire to follow their ramblings.

[Foxglove]

Lighten up Jimcee...it's good entertainment