Billy Bragg Quotes

[Proportional representation is a] device for defeating democracy, the principle of which was that the majority should rule, and for bringing faddists of all kinds into Parliament, and establishing groups and disintegrating parties.

Some people say we need a third party. I wish we had a second one.

As much as I cherish your [McCarthy's] right to a platform as an independent candidate I am not going to sit here quietly and listen to you denigrate the two party system. It has served our country well over the last two hundred years.

I myself share with the Conservative Party a profound dislike for such fandangles as proportional representation.

The two party electoral system performs the essential function of helping to legitimate the existing social order.

I think it's a pity that in many people's minds constitutional reform and PR have come to mean much the same thing.

If you went to a parliamentary system for America, you would have 30 political parties develop overnight—maybe 50.

In Denmark, you have thirteen or more political parties, so it's not too difficult to find a party who reflect your views.

I'm a firm believer that if we could restore real parliamentary democracy, the best way to do that would be to get rid of political parties.

Many Americans do not realize that we could institute proportional representation for most elections in the U.S. without amending the Constitution. In helping to educate the public about the potential for voting system reform, CVD can play a central role in a pro-democracy movement right here in America!

No free country has ever been without Parties, which are a natural offspring of freedom.

The system [in U.S.] is designed for a two-party system. And those two parties have an interest in keeping third parties out. There's too much of the structure that works in the two-party way. They will keep the third party out.

That's why we have senators and members of congress from every state. That's why we have elections. Because the people speak and there are different viewpoints out there. It doesn't mean just because we're members of one party or another, doesn't mean that we behave monolithically. It means that we will express our view points.

I hate politics. It's slimy. Any job where people pander for votes, I don't like. The country has gotten so partisan that if you're not on my side, you're the enemy. The only thing I ever try to support is a third party, like Unity08. We need more parties and more choice.

I used to be a fan of proportional representation, but I am not at all now I have seen it in action.

In my view what you can't argue for is a system that is neither decisive nor proportional and can be indecisive and disproportionate at the same time.

Canadians can get Parliament working again. Here's how to do that: elect more New Democrats.

South Australia was the first community to give the secret ballot for political elections.

There must not be a party monopoly on power.

In England, a Majority of Citizens does not elect the Majority of Representatives.

It is not healthy to have a country governed by just one political party. There should be other political families taking part in government.

Annual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage and Votes by Ballot.

Our concepts of ballot-box democracy may need to be modified to produce strong governments capable of making difficult decisions

Ordinarily, proportional representation has a centrifugal effect, because it allows many parties, some of them extreme, to win a few seats and enter the legislature.

… the decay of the liberties of the Dutch republic proceeded from three causes: 1. The perfect unanimity requisite on all occasions. 2. Their obligation to consult their constituents. 3. Their voting by provinces. This last destroyed the equality of representation, and the liberties of Great Britain also are sinking from the same defect.