pn798. MMP after 25 Years. Where Now?

Click on the link.    Bryce Edwards summarises a four-part series by Henry Cooke on MMP, with links to the Cooke articles provided. 

While the overall opinion on MMP is  that it is a big improvement on the old First Past the Post elections we once had, major MMP shortcomings include the ongoing dominance of the two major parties and their centralist positions, with Labour going to the right and National to the left to capture the 'middle' votes. The result? Governments have been afraid to seriously tackle major issues such as housing, poverty and climate change for fear of losing 'middle' voters."

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"The most important critique of MMP raised in Cooke’s article is that the current electoral system has led to timid governments that don’t deal with intractable and difficult problems. Our governments are now centrist and disinclined towards any boldness or radicalism." 

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With the present Government committed to review the parliamentary system, Cooke's fourth article on where we go from here is especially important.