4/ The most dishonest referendum campaign in the UK during the 2010s was the No2AV campaign, and it's not even close.

“There's much to welcome in the Govt’s proposals, including the reduction of the voting age to 16. But there's a danger that young people’s enthusiasm for our democracy will be dampened because our First Past the Post excludes so many of their voices from our politics.” 💬 @lisasmartmp.bsky.social

Plenty still scoff at idea of an AOC run. But the Mamdani success should remind us how formidable a candidate she will be in the Dem 28 primary. And she'd be formidable in the general too. Because like Trump, she is one of the few politicians to truly grasp the media age we're living in.

Latest RNZ poll is the best ever polling result for NZ First while they’ve been in govt

AP reporting Red Cross hospital in Gaza saying at least 21 people killed and another 175 injured in Gaza as they went to receive aid from an Israeli-backed foundation.

I made this meme less than three months ago for something entirely different yet somehow it's relevant again 🙃

The Golden Mile project spans three mayors and councils. It’s not a recent or rushed decision, been consulted on many times & supported in multiple elections. The work of this council stays in place largely until halfway through the next council term. This is how local government works!

Honestly don't understand the people who want to "leave Courtenay Place alone." I walk/cycle through it every day and it's a complete dump. No one stops there except to grab a takeaway. What are these people desperate to preserve? It desperately needs rejuvenation, and it will thrive afterward...

Early exit polls suggest the new pope did particularly well with male voters aged 45-79.

What is really baffling here is that one of Andrew Little’s most prominent commitments so far is to “make public transport cheaper” and while that is actually impossible for him to do (wrong council), what he could deliver is more bus improvements, including the long overdue ones on the Golden Mile!

Andrew Little on why we shouldn’t complete Golden Mile contracts. He’s wrong. Yes big decisions taper off after July recess up to the election, but this is not a new decision. This work has been coming for years, through multiple decisions over multiple councils. It’s happening.

AV isn't a perfect electoral system by any means (has some of the same pathologies as FPP), but I can guarantee to you we won't, in the Aus election this weekend, see an utter absurdity of a result like this where the winner in no way meaningfully represents the majority in the electorate. FPP, man

I didn’t actually realise till now but at the start of the month they also announced they’re going to disenfranchise thousands of people who enrol on election day itself

Not since the 1940s has a Canadian Party enjoyed four or more wins on the trot. Quite something that Donald Trump would become the saviour of Canadian progressivism and Davos man Mark Carney the standard bearer of Canadian nationalism.

The last government's Elections Bill broke the way we elect our mayors, allowing candidates to sneak in with low levels of public support. We could easily see a new record set on May 1st for most unpopular mayor. www.electoral-reform.org.uk/are-we-going...

I'm running! With our city (and world) the way it is, there's a need for constructive, pragmatic people at the table. If I'm lucky enough to receive the Greens nomination, I'll be asking for your help - for housing, infrastructure, for a Wellington where everyone can thrive.

I suspect that Andrew Little entering the race actually helps Tory Whanau's candidacy. It means she isn't the sole target of attacks from the right, and it means she can run to Little's left, positioning herself as the change/transformation candidate despite being the incumbent.

American exceptionalism is electing a pariah government so repugnant that it tanks the electoral prospects of aligned right wing governments across the entire anglosphere

Kinda appropriate that the “Great” in MAGA refers to the Gilded Age

Petition to the Telecommunications Commissioner to make all our phones play the "Goodnight Kiwi" video at 11pm then switch social media off for the night.

New poll from Labour Together that really underlines just how utterly negligent it was not to change the electoral system for mayors back to ranked voting.

💯 The government can and should reintroduce a fairer system for mayor and PCC elections ⚠️ But what would be truly negligent is failing to address First Past the Post for general elections... ...a system Labour policy recognises is "flawed" and driving "distrust and alienation" in politics

💯 "If you want to make the argument that the system is rigged and there’s an out-of-touch elite that’s basically running a kind of closed shop, well, the electoral system makes that argument easier right now." - @robfordmancs.bsky.social hits the nail on the head

👏 MPs from across Parliament challenged the Government's inaction on First Past the Post yesterday... A voting system Labour Party policy describes as "flawed" and "contributing to the distrust & alienation we see in politics" 🏛 We need a National Commission for Electoral Reform

Amnesty International official Prisoner of Conscience designation when

Got to hand it to Canada, nobody does electoral turnarounds quite like they do.

Time for the congestion pricing summary again: Traffic inside zone: down Traffic outside zone: down Injuries: down Deaths: down Honking: down Pollution: down Transit use: up Transit speeds: up Foot traffic: up Business receipts: up Restaurant reservations: up Revenue targets: hit

83.5% of Germans participated in yesterday's election. In the UK general election last year, just 60% took part. Studies show that countries with proportional systems have higher turnout. Voters engage more when they have a real choice and know that they can make a difference.

The German election results are "provisional". What votes are still to be count and/or is there a recount of the votes? It seems like BSW at 4.97% could potentially get over the 5% threshold completely changing the government formation negotiations but no-one reporting this

As a Te Aro resident I despise these folks from Titahi Bay, Roseneath, Wairarapa, and Khandallah demanding that my neighbourhood ought to be MORE congested, have LESS housing, and MORE PARKING BUILDINGS! It's not only absurd urban planning but an insult to the quality of our collective life here

JAG: “All the statements about parking being a nightmare...I understand people have that perception, but the reality is, you can't hold aside all the land in your city for parking and also have an efficient transport network, and take action on climate change, and have affordable housing...”

Assuming this is an accurate summary of the discussion, the esteemed panelists really did seem to run dry as soon as Julie Anne Genter asked about the actual things that councils do. The "vision" seems remarkably flimsy. www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3605...

Labour won the last election on just a third of the vote. Now Nigel Farage believes he can do the same. Right, left or centre - NO ONE with minority support should have 100% of the power. That's why we demand Proportional Representation.

The same councillors who decry excessive spending on pet projects just voted to pump millions of dollars into a house for flowers. thespinoff.co.nz/politics/18-...

I love this one @misswhanau.bsky.social

We can really say it's ... goneburger

No shit. Speaks incredibly ill of the CPS in the UK that she was even charged. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

"It's great to see the Employment Rights Bill...but under First Past the Post, the gains we make are too often lost once the pendulum swings...& the Tories get back in." says @reded66.bsky.social from @cwunews.bsky.social in #HeartUnions week #TimeForPR politicsforthemany.co.uk/changing-our...

The two main things fuelling Reform are dissatisfaction with immigration policy and dissatisfaction with/distrust in politics/the system. It's odd that the big two parties only ever go in for the fight they can't win (you just can't out anti-immigration Reform), with no real interest in the other.

🏛️ Cross-party MPs used last week's debate on Proportional Representation to call for a 'National Commission for Electoral Reform' 🚨 First Past the Post isn't working. The public knows it, the parties know it, and MPs know it 🚀 It's time for action, starting with the launch of a National Commission

FYI evidence on results of previous corporate tax cuts. For the cabinet paper...

Unsurprising that the Ministry of Justice is not preparing for a referendum - it's the Electoral Commission that would deliver a referendum

💥 Every single Labour MP has been asked by their constituents to attend this debate & support Proportional Representation 📨 Write to your MP now: www.l4nd.org.uk/write-to-mp 🚀 The government must grasp the nettle & set up a National Commission for Electoral Reform 🌹 #Labour4PR

"Canada’s Justin Trudeau recently aired his greatest regret: I do wish that we’d been able to change the way we elect our governments in this country." ✍️ @pollytoynbee.bsky.social joins calls for a National Commission to address the electoral system before the next general election

It’s funny Zuck says “I started building social media to give people a voice” when in fact, he started building social media to publicly rate the hotness of undergrads.

On the day Farage and Tice have taken to the airwaves to defend him, Musk says that Reform needs a new leader. Big moment. Apparently no Musk money for Reform. At least while Farage is leader.

The Media Council has upheld my complaint against NZME, saying Barry Soper’s article on Tory Whanau made a “serious error that cast unfounded doubt on the legitimacy of the process that led to Ms Whanau becoming mayor.” They agreed the correction both fell short and confused the matter further. 1/

❌ "I think that's a mistake and I think it was a mistake for Tony Blair back in the 90s." Anushka Asthana talks about parties "not seeing Proportional Representation as a priority" when in government 🧭 From the #ItsBloodyComplicated podcast by @compassoffice.bsky.social

genuinely interested to know - why is everyone having the same age for UK state pension a massive scandal?

Blackbrook (St Helens) Council By-Election Result: ➡️ RFM: 41.1% (New) 🌹 LAB: 34.7% (-18.4) 🌍 GRN: 12.6% (-16.4) 🌳 CON: 7.7% (-10.2) 🙋 IND: 3.9% (New) Reform GAIN from Labour. Changes w/ 2022.