Electoral Reform Society: Harman owes job to election she wouldn’t offer to public.

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Tuesday, 26, Jun 2007 12:00

I’m all right Gordon… Pull the ladder up

Harman owes job to election she wouldn’t offer to public.

Harriet Harman awoke this morning as Labour’s Deputy Labour Leader, following yet another ‘I’m all right Jack’ election.

The Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham emerged victorious in a close fought contest last night, which offered more choice to Labour members than is currently available to the British public.

However it was not Harman, but Jon Cruddas, who would have picked up the number two job if voters had faced the same restrictions most British voters face at the ballot box.

The vote - which included three million cast by trade union members - was counted in a series of rounds. Cruddas, could have expected victory in a first past the post contest, after a narrow win in the first round.

But by transferring the second preferences of defeated candidates votes that would be lost under first past the post were kept in play, a process that culminated in Harman’s victory.

Dr Ken Ritchie, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society said:

“We will be writing to congratulate Ms Harman on her victory. This was the right result, brought about by a system designed to make sure that every Labour member’s vote really counted.

“We would also remind her in that in such a close run thing, it was a more sophisticated system that saw her returned as deputy leader.If Labour believed in first past the post for its own elections, it is Jon Cruddas who should now be heading for the cabinet table.”

Harman, a former Constitutional affairs minister responsible for overseeing electoral reform, remains tight lipped over any change to Britain’s first past the post system.

Currently not one of the major parties opts for ‘simple’ first past the post contests for their leadership elections. Dr Ritchie added:

“If there is one thing that unites all the main parties, it is the recognition that first past the post is woefully inadequate when it comes to choosing political leaders. Now there is a difficult question here. Why do the parties extend a courtesy to their MPs and members that they are either unprepared or unwilling to offer the British public?”

“Over three million labour members and supporters were given the opportunity to take part in preferential voting last night. There are forty five million voters awaiting the same opportunity.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Labour Party Deputy Leadership round by round voting.

Candidate Members of affiliated organisations Individual members MPs and MEPs Total

Jon Cruddas 9.09% 5.67% 4.63% 19.39%

Harriet Harman 4.35% 8.04% 6.54% 18.93%

Alan Johnson 4.55% 5.53% 8.08% 18.16%

Hilary Benn 4.93% 7.21% 4.27% 16.40%

Peter Hain 6.64% 3.87% 4.81% 15.32%

Hazel Blears 3.77% 3% 4.99% 11.77%

Hazel Blears finished in 6th place in the first round and was therefore eliminated.

Candidate Members of affiliated organisations Individual members MPs and MEPs Total

Alan Johnson 5.91% 6.35% 11.47% 23.74%

Harriet Harman 5.15% 8.80% 7.29% 21.23%

Jon Cruddas 9.64% 6.01% 4.74% 20.39%

Hilary Benn 5.56% 7.93% 4.74% 18.22%

Peter Hain 7.08% 4.24% 5.10% 16.42%

Peter Hain finished in 5th place and was eliminated in the second round of voting.

Candidate Members of affiliated organisations Individual members MPs and MEPs Total

Alan Johnson 7.81% 7.31% 12.78% 27.90%

Harriet Harman 7.12% 10.15% 8.61% 25.88%

Jon Cruddas 11.01% 6.58% 6.30% 23.89%

Hilary Benn 7.39% 9.29% 5.65% 22.33%

Hilary Benn finished in 4th place and was eliminated in the third round of voting.

Candidate Members of affiliated organisations Individual members MPs and MEPs Total

Alan Johnson 10.25% 10.70% 15.39% 36.35%

Harriet Harman 9.46% 13.82% 10.29% 33.58%

Jon Cruddas 13.61% 8.81% 7.65% 30.06%

Jon Cruddas finished in 3rd place and was eliminated in the fourth round of voting.

Candidate Members of affiliated organisations Individual members MPs and MEPs Total

Harriet Harman 16.18% 18.83% 15.42% 50.43%

Alan Johnson 17.15% 14.50% 17.91% 49.56%

Harriet Harman elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

• Under Labour Party leadership rules, if any candidate receives a majority of votes, they are declared the leader. If not, the last place contender drops out and their second preferences reallocated - and so on until someone passes the 50% figure. Without taking into account preferences, Jon Cruddas would have been elected deputy leader on the basis of the first round.

• Under Conservative Party rules, if two candidates stand, then the election immediately proceeds to a ballot of all members of the party. If more than two candidates stand, then MPs first hold a series of ballots to reduce the number to two. On each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. The series of ballots by MPs continues until there are only two candidates remaining. At this point the all-member ballot begins; this lasts for some weeks. To be eligible to vote, an individual has to have been a paid-up member of the party for at least three months. The candidate who tops the poll is declared leader.

• Liberal Democrats also offer preferential voting to their members. They are the only major party currently pledged to reforming the voting system