Scotland's Democracy

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 The great political dishonesty at the heart of the ongoing general election campaign is that no single party can muster enough support to form a majority government at the Westminster Parliament.

 Yet both the Conservatives and Labour are trying to win power on a small minority share of the popular vote through a discredited First Past The Post (FPTP) voting system which has been abolished for elections to the Scottish Parliament.

 So the most likely outcome of the general election, in the shape of a hung parliament, is also the most democratic one which reflects the mode and political will of voters across the UK.

 After listening to last night Scottish leaders' debate I was left wondering whether I wanted the SNP exercising some influence over the direction of a UK government after 7th May or the 'usual suspects' from Scottish Labour who are cynical enough to try and run the country based on only third or so of the popular vote.

 But I didn't have to think for long because the democratic outcome is one where the SNP, as the largest and most popular party in Scotland by far, is a credible force that the new Westminster Government has to reckon with.

 Whereas any other outcome puts Scotland at a disadvantage while bolstering Conservative and Labour claims that they are capable of governing the UK, in this day and age, without a popular, democratic mandate.       

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