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WHO WAS THOMAS HARE?
"A system which forms the electoral body into adverse parties, arrayed under formal names which are themselves exaggerations calculated to excite hostility where none really exists, has the effect of preventing the expression of the true and individual opinions of the members who compose either party.
“It lowers the force of thought and conscience… It is not therefore surprising that we hear of the infirmities of representative institutions."
The Election of Representatives; a Treatise', 1865
A commentary of present-day politics? But these words were written a century and a half ago. The writer, Thomas Hare, (1806-1891), was a British political thinker and essayist motivated by the need to make our politics fairer and more representative.
Hare, from a relatively humble farming background, worked his way from a solicitor's clerk to the Bar. In 1853 he joined the then newly established Charity Commission as an Inspector of Charities, and became concerned not only with the many pressing social issues of the day, but with a political system that seemed unable or unwilling to provide a solution. Parties were finding that it was more important to keep a majority than to focus on the real job of government, and changing society for the better.
For Hare the answer was a more representative parliament. This would mean a change to the voting system, a change that would reward candidates on merit, allow representation to significant minorities, give voters meaningful choice and ensure that every vote counted. Hare pioneered the Single Transferable Vote, a system now in use throughout the world, in Scotland, Ireland, Malta, India and cities across the United States.
Hare’s principles of fairness, transparency and ensuring that all votes could count still inform the work of the Electoral Reform Society’s work today.
More information...
Find out more about Thomas Hare (wiki link)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hare
The Election of Representatives; a Treatise', by Thomas Hare
