That is because they are thick. In this country it is considered a matter of pride to boast of one’s innumeracy. Given how many people want jobs in the media, one might suppose they could make some effort to recruit people who understand basic arithmetics, statisics and the like. But they don’t – there’s enough really bad mathematical howlers in the media to make it clear they really aren’t doing it deliberately to mislead, they actually are just thick.

Consider – the average Irishman/woman understands STV and they have always voted in favour of it when their politicians have tried to take it away from them. But media people and politicans here take pride in ho-ho-ing about it being so complex they couldn’t possibly understand it or explain it – and I believe them, given the hash they made about e.g. explaning how the Greater London elctions work, or their utter failure to realise that we don’t have “an MEP” like we have “an MP” due the electoral system. Why don’t they just say “I’m thick – much thicker than the average Irish person who doesn’t have the trouble I have with this thing”?

Actually there’s quite a lot of evidence that they’d be mugging the system just as badly (I give you… Europe). There’s a far easier way of reducing their scope to play the expenses system – stop paying them.

As for what “the public” wants, the best you can say is that they don’t know, other than some vague concept called “change”, because that fixes everything….

It will become a matter of how to vote for a bunch of people who have a pension reliant on them not complaining about their masters in Europe. The Gaulieters? They, as before, will be appointed.

Peeps, can I just mention that you’re all missing the real story – the expenses story is shaking the tories (under 40% in the polls x3) and CAMERON IS PANICKING.

Round here the Andrew MacKay story has really permeated across the board and Labour continue to retreat in the face of the national picture, so it doesn’t matter what anybody makes policy announcements on, just big up the Cleggster!

Isn’t irony a wonderful thing

Whoops, I must have slipped into a parrell universe where peoples confidence in Parliament isn’t at a record low. Where people aren’t seethingly angry against the entire system. Or maybe not hey; maybe i was imagining that nice Mr Cameron talking about ‘broken politics’ this morning?

I agree that transparancey is important but we are in ‘root and branch’ territory now, and part of that is how elected representatives are elected. Because the second place party; under FPTP might well not be the second place in terms of vote share so errr any more dodgy non-relevant metaphors?