The Conservatives have commissioned a poll and a series of focus groups to examine the issue of electoral reform. Trouble is, the pollster they’ve hired is a raving right-wing lunatic, and the think tank that’s managing the focus groups thinks proportional representation is a bad idea. So far, the results are about what you’d expect. Idealistic Pragmatist has the details here and here.

That the Conservatives aren’t too keen on proportional representation isn’t surprising. Under proportional representation, the Conservatives — who can only claim about a third of the vote — would never be able to get the majority government they so desperately want. They’d have to form a coalition with other parties instead — something they seem to regard as unthinkable, even though it works quite well in other democratic countries. That’s why the Tories’ idea of electoral reform stops with elections and term limits for senators: real democratic reform, in the form of proportional representation, would sabotage their ambitions for a Parliamentary majority.

(Incidentally, the aforementioned Idealistic Pragmatist is a great source for information on electoral reform. IP’s Proportional representation FAQ and Six reasons to support proportional representation are excellent starting points if you want to learn more about the subject.)