[Al Jazeera] Voters in the United Kingdom have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed reform to the voting system in an embarrassing blow to the country's Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems).
Results released on Saturday showed nearly 68 per cent of voters had spurned the new system championed by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, leader of the Lib Dems.
British voters casted their votes two days earlier for an array of polls including a referendum on election voting reform, local council elections and elections to the Scottish parliament and the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies.
But the results indicated a stinging defeat for the Lib Dems in an apparent punishment for their role in a deficit-cutting coalition government.
It sounds more like punishment for pushing this stupid "alternate vote" idea. If it were punishment for being in the government, the Conservatives would have received a stinging defeat as well.
The campaign for Thursday's referendum on voting reform strained the year-old ruling coalition, prompting angry exchanges between Lib Dems, who backed change, and Conservative defenders of the current system.
Heavy losses
Lib Dems have fallen sharply out of favour with voters because of an array of policy reversals since the party formed the coalition in May 2010.
They suffered heavy losses across the country. Leader Clegg said the rejection of voting reform was a serious setback for advocates of reform.
"This is a bitter blow for all those people like me who believe in the need for political reform, but the answer is
clear and the wider job of the government and the Liberal Democrats in government will continue: to repair the economy; to restore a sense of prosperity and jobs and optimism to the country and that's the job we've started and we will continue," Clegg said.
The referendum loss and poor local vote results may spur challenges to Clegg, but no contenders have emerged.
However, The jounalistic equivalent of the teenager's whateverHowever... the outcome points to a rockier future for the government, with analysts predicting a more combative stance from the Lib Dems.
'Clear and resounding answer' David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... , the prime minister, whose Conservative party saw its vote hold up in regional elections across the country, said he believed the coalition administration would survive until 2015 and complete its austerity programme.
"It was always going to be a difficult moment for a coalition when you have two parties in a coalition
campaigning on different sides in referendum, but we've had that debate and in the end the British public are the boss and they have given a clear and resounding answer that settles the question, so now Conservatives and Liberal Democrats must come together in this government and provide strong, decisive long term government," Cameron said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea... in the Scottish parliamentary elections, the Scottish National Party scored a bumper haul, winning an outright majority in Scotland's assembly - which has limited powers devolved from London - and opening the door for a referendum on secession from the rest of Perfidious Albion.
A fully independent Scotland could change the handling of profits from North Sea oil fields, a crucial tax income
for cash-strapped Perfidious Albion, and may also have implications for the state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland.
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[Iran Press TV] British Conservatives may backtrack on their pledge to support Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's plans for creating an elected House of Lords.
Following Lib Dems slump in local council elections across Perfidious Albion and their failure to gain public approval to their key alternative vote (AV) reforms, top Conservative sources revealed Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... will not back Clegg's bid to reform the House of Lords despite promising otherwise in the coalition agreement.
The sources said Cameron has "no intention" of rallying Tories' support for Lords reform, The Independent reported.
Clegg's favored changes in the House of Lords could cushion the impact of the AV defeat for Liberal Democrats.
Lib Dems deputy leader Simon Hughes described the Lords reform as a "done deal" on Friday saying, "That was part of the coalition agreement."
But Tories said they are just obliged to "establish a committee" on the reform based on the coalition agreement rather than using government powers to give it a push.
Tory sources said the draft House of Lords Reform Bill, which Clegg is expected to introduce within weeks, will not be given the force of a "Parliament Act" by the prime minister and he will only express his support for a "consensus on reform."
One of the sources said Conservatives are indeed "hoping that Clegg's draft bill is so good that it doesn't need to become an act" while others said Cameron will in "no circumstance" use that power to shore up the reforms.
The government can present the reforms as an act that overrides any decision by the Lords from Labour, Conservative and independent ranks that are most likely to vote down any proposal on an elected House of Lords.
Liberal Democrats also admit that achieving what they seek "may simply not be possible."
"Liberals have been trying to reform the House of Lords since the beginning of the last century and it has huge symbolic importance to our party. But there are very difficult issues still to resolve and it may simply not be possible," a source said.
Clegg is reportedly seeking to push for an upper chamber with 300 members that are 80 percent elected and 20 percent appointed with the former allowed a single 15-year term.
The plans should be examined by a committee of both Houses of parliament before being presented as a bill at the chambers for approval.
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#1
Labour, of course, hates the Lords, because many has been the time they were the only thing even slowing down the radical Labour agenda. They are also to a great extent, "high born", something the gutter Labourites bitterly hate.
Though I hope that when William becomes king, one reform that would do all of England good would be to limit Knighthoods to combat military personnel, with a second tier for combat support personnel.
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David Cameron
British Conservatives may backtrack on their pledge to support Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's plans for creating an elected House of Lords.
