UK Politics / Reply to Ann

[davewitley]

> Carol:
> Well, yes and no. I take it that "first past the post" refers to a
> candidate who receives a plurality rather than a majority and that you
> consider such a result unrepresentative. (I agree.) 

I think the racing metaphor makes most sense when compared with
preference (as in Australia) or multiple-round (as in French
presidential elections) systems.  In both of these, the least popular
candidate is eliminated, and then either the lower preference votes on
the ballots of the people who voted for them are allocated, or there
is another round of voting.

In these systems having a plurality in the early stages (being 'out in
front') does not guarantee victory.

David, who has always been puzzled by racing metaphors for elections