Poll good news for MMP

Written By: - Date published: 4:39 pm, February 25th, 2010 - 4 comments
Categories: MMP, polls - Tags: , , ,

No Right Turn covers the latest UMR poll on MMP:

A UMR poll [PDF] on MMP has found 49% support for the current voting system, and only 42% support for changing it. As before, support for democracy was higher amongst women and young people, while support for change was concentrated amongst men, the old, and rural people. As before, FPP is the most preferred alternative, and no-one likes John Key’s preferred Supplementary Member system.

The poll also asked about possible changes to MMP, and found wide support. UMR spins this as “majority support for either changing MMP or ditching it entirely”; a better way of looking at it is that there is majority support for keeping MMP (though possibly with a few tweaks), with only a third wanting change. The fact that the government has announced plans to review MMP and modify it if necessary. This means that people won’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

So, good news for the pro-MMP campaign, but by no means an unassailable lead. The forces of reaction will be out to undermine our democracy like they did last time, and with the backing of former Telecom chairman Peter Shirtcliffe they won’t be short of money.

Their aim is to reinstate unrepresentative one-party government, our aim is to stop them. Do your bit by getting involved with the Campaign for MMP.

4 comments on “Poll good news for MMP ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Lanthanide 1
    25 February 2010 at 5:54 pm

    I looked up SM on wikipedia. It has this interesting part at the bottom of the SM In New Zealand section.

    “It is possible that SM may be considered again as a possible electoral system within New Zealand—despite the country currently having one of the most proportional electoral systems in the world under MMP (see Gallagher Index).”

  2. lukas 2
    25 February 2010 at 6:21 pm

    Eddie, what are your thoughts on only 23% of people wanting to keep the electoral system as it is now? Do you think that it shows people want the threshold lifted above 5%?

  3. Brett Dale 3
    26 February 2010 at 1:41 pm

    I wonder if all those on the left will keep loving MMP if ACT gets a few more seats in the election because of it.

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