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From a quick glance at recent opinion polls, you would think all three major parties have a chance of winning the upcoming election.

 The BBC’s poll of polls from 23 April has the current position as follows:

• 1^st – Conservative – 33% of the vote
• 2^nd – Liberal Democrats – 30% of the vote
• 3^rd – Labour – 27% of the vote

Whilst this looks very close, it is important to remember that our election system means the winner is not based on who has the most votes. Our system is based on which party wins the most seats, which is not necessarily the same thing.

The BBC calculates that based on the above split, the result would be as follows:

• 1^st – Labour – 261 seats
• 2^nd – Conservative – 258 seats
• 3^rd – Liberal Democrats – 102 seats

The most striking thing about these numbers is quite how far behind the Lib Dems are based on seats, even if they get the second number of votes. It’s no wonder they are in favour of electoral reform!

What do you think? Is this fair? Should we change our electoral system?

Why not leave a comment below.