Roger Helmer MEP

Mr Helmer seems a tad confused.

He described the Conservative 30% share of the East Midlands vote in the Euro-election as a very solid and good result. Well, it was certainly better than any other party’s result but it means that 70 out of every 100 voters in the region voted against the party while, nationally, 72 out of every 100 voted against Conservative candidates. It is hardly a clarion call for a Conservative Government. Although the Labour Party seems to be doing its best to lose the next general election, there is little sign that the Conservative Party is doing much to win.

Then, although he declared himself opposed to electoral reform, he claimed that over 60% of the region’s votes were for euro-sceptic parties. That is completely illogical because percentages of votes are not really relevant except in the context of proportional representation, which he opposes.

He states that people don’t want a referendum on electoral reform but on the Lisbon Treaty, which he calls the EU Constitution. This is a selective display of high principles. Labour promised referendums on both. He also says people don’t want electoral reform but a general election and yet, without reform, the election will be undemocratic and solve nothing in the long term because the new Government – Conservative, Labour or any other party – will represent only a minority of voters.
The present Government was elected by only 35% of the votes; 65 out of 100 voters voted against Labour. Now if the Conservatives win the next election outright with only about 35% of the votes, no doubt Mr Helmer will see it as a solid and good result, but it will not be democratic. Nor will it be democratic if Labour revives enough to win another election with only about 35% of the votes.

You’re quibbling over arithmetic. It’s good because it was a whole lot better than the previous time (2004), in the teeth of the furore over MPs’ expenses.