Someone pointed me to this video (from 1987!) by John Cleese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSUKMa1cYHk

Benjamin is quite correct – we don’t vote for the PM. I think perhaps we should though. It would be simpler than trying to divine the wishes of the electorate through Parliament. Given how strong party discipline is, with a clear majority the Commons are little more than a very expensive electoral college to select an executive.

Nicely put – was trying to say something similar :o)

Further to your well-made points, i’m astonished at the hypocrisy of:

1) Anyone saying that any ‘leader’ has been rejected, carefully ignoring that by the same argument theirs has as well.

2) Any argument made against any given coalition being “undemocratic” merely because your chosen party isn’t in it. This is the electoral system *you* are arguing as “not in need of reform”.

3) Any commentator talking about ‘best ideological fit’, assuming a stereotype of any given voter unmeasured by an archaic electoral system. AV or STV would give you that data, hence the argument about it being ‘more fair’.

That felt good.

68% is an increase, and that is I suppose a good thing; but still that means the “nation speaking” is only two thirds, and until that is addressed – by increasing engagement, making it easier to vote, by reforming the mechanisms root and branch so that it’s not a once-in-5-years-or-so process – as a country, we’re political sleepwalkers.