Hansard

The Convener: Lab

We move now to item 2, which is phase 1 of our inquiry into renewing local democracy. We will consider the white paper—"Renewing Local Democracy: The Next St...

Professor John Curtice (University of Strathclyde):

Thank you. The committee has asked me to do three things: first, to provide an overview of the electoral systems that are mentioned in the Executive's white ...

The Convener: Lab

If nothing else, you have put us in our place by saying that only 8 per cent of people contact elected representatives, although 43 per cent of people claim ...

Professor Curtice:

I do not think that any research has been conducted on what people understand the councillor-ward link to be. That is a set of buzz words that has little mea...

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): SNP

I thank Professor Curtice for his interesting presentation. I do not know about you, but my mind is boggling with the information on the first-past-the-post ...

Professor Curtice:

The Kerley committee was politically unwise to suggest a reduction in the number of councillors because the parties that would lose out in an area from the c...

John Young (West of Scotland) (Con): Con

I first became a councillor in 1964 in Glasgow where there were three councillors per ward, as you recall. The ward electorate ranged between 50,000 and 5,50...

Professor Curtice:

The concern about alleged second-class representation relates more to an additional member system than to STV. It is also a product of the rules according to...

John Young: Con

I may be wrong about this, but I believe that the current Prime Minister of New Zealand indicated that PR at national level had led to a lack of stability in...

Professor Curtice:

I do not suggest that some countries have not had difficulties with PR because of instability. However, much of the Italian electoral system is now based on ...

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): Lab

I have three questions, although two of them are for clarification.You seem to be saying that we have no clear research evidence of what the public think abo...

Professor Curtice:

The answer to your question is twofold. First, we do not know whether the public prefers AMS to STV in Scottish local government elections. I do not think th...

Dr Jackson: Lab

You have examined multimember wards. How do they operate? Have you examined areas where several political parties have several councillors within one large w...

Professor Curtice:

The operation of local government is not an area in which I specialise. However, I am not aware that anyone has compared what happens in single-member wards ...

Dr Jackson: Lab

Are you saying that no one has examined how the system operates on the ground in England?

Professor Curtice:

From an English perspective, the question is irrelevant. No one in England wants to make the vast majority of wards single-member districts. The fact that mo...

Dr Jackson: Lab

Is there no evidence of how those wards operate in England?

Professor Curtice:

I am not aware of any such evidence, but I am not a local government expert. Members may want to investigate whether local government experts who work on how...

John Young: Con

I served as a councillor at a time when there were three-member wards in Glasgow. In those days, the Conservatives were still called Progressives. The ward t...

Dr Jackson: Lab

My last question is about the slide headed "Keeping Councillors". I did not follow everything that you said about that, particularly the third point on the s...

Professor Curtice:

I will repeat what I said slowly. Irrespective of the system that is used, the more councillors there are, the greater the potential for generating proportio...

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): Lab

I apologise for having come in halfway through your presentation. I was across in Ireland last week watching the general elections and considering matters to...

Professor Curtice:

The answer is almost undoubtedly that it is a feature of both. One way of thinking about it might be to say that STV encourages the Irish to be Irish. If any...

Ms White: SNP

I have a question about accessing the voters who come out to vote. The conclusion that I came to from your presentation is that there are good and bad points...

Professor Curtice:

I am sorry if I do not remember all your questions—feel free to butt in. I will answer your questions in reverse order. As I suggested, the evidence appears ...

Ms White: SNP

Does the first-past-the-post system discriminate against smaller parties?

Professor Curtice:

It discriminates against parties whose votes are evenly spread geographically, until those parties become the largest party, at which point, it gives them a ...

Elaine Thomson: Lab

I want to follow up on that. Is there any evidence—either national or international—to show that STV systems result in a lower proportion of female represent...

Professor Curtice:

I am not sure whether there is evidence to suggest that the situation is worse under FPP. There is certainly no clear or significant evidence to suggest that...

John Young: Con

Nuremberg is twinned with Glasgow. A few years ago, the council in Nuremberg was made up of a coalition of Social Democrats, Christian Democrats and Greens. ...