Will Hutton writes in the Observer:
Much of what is wrong in Britain springs from the dysfunctionality of its state and the way that spills over into its financial system. Conservatives in both principal parties warmly approve of British democracy as delivering strong, decisive and stable government. It does no such thing. It delivers strong, one-party government, which is very different. It produces half-baked ideological policies, clumsy implementation and makes government susceptible to the lobbying of interest groups. Governments say yes because they don't have the broad political base to say no. The key to unlocking change is a fairer voting system.
Fairness is also the value that keeps capitalism honest and more productive rather than collapsing into a world of rigged markets and Del Boy spivvery. The more profits and high salaries are fairly earned by diligence, effort, innovation and investment the stronger the economy that results. The heart of the financial crisis was that bankers dispensed with such concerns and built a financial system grounded in looting.
What is it with this curious idea – held, supposedly, by “the markets” as well as the electorate – that only an irresistible one-party government can provide strong decision and actions? In my experience, consensus always provides better results than sectional views or interests. The rest of Europe has worked with coalition governments for at least the last 50 years (ah, but that’s the problem – we have to be and be seen to be different from Johnny Foreigner). Our broken politics can surely only be improved by a new way of doing things that requires consensus-building.
