Proportional Representation : Critics of the British Electoral System 1820-1945

This is the first scholarly history of the proportional representation movement. Jenifer Hart explores its origins in the early nineteenth century and analyses the contribution of political thinkers such as Thomas Hare and John Stuart Mill. She traces the history of the early campaigns, and the progress and vicissitudes of the cause during the twentieth century. A final chapter takes the account up to the present day. Based on extensive research, this is an accessible and comprehensive study which throws light on many of the questions which bedevil contemporary political commentators. Mrs Hart demonstrates the inadequacy of the commonly made identification of proportional representation with liberalism, and explains the failure of its supporters to achieve its adoption in the UK, with the exception of Northern Ireland. Her book makes an important contribution to British constitutional history and to current debates on electoral reform.