I didn’t vote for UKIP last week and like many others, I was both amused and bemused at his  ‘non-resignation’, I’m going on holiday’ speech.

There is virtually no aspect of the UKIP policies that I agree with, or so I thought, until one friend, whom I discovered was voting UKIP, said that one of their policies was to be kind to old people, a genuinely nice thought.

But I have a post-election confession.

I do agree with Nigel. The UK first past the post system is bizarre and outdated.

It’s hard to deny when a political system which saw UKIP dramatically increase its support to 3.9 million votes only won one seat. The Greens won more than a million votes but also got just one seat.

By contrast the SNP who got less than 1.5 million votes, half of those who voted in Scotland, won 56 seats. That means half of those who diligently went out and voted in Scotland did not vote for the SNP and did not get the government they voted for (sound familiar?).

So how representative is our new government of those hard working families we keep hearing about (how hard do you have to work to qualify?) and the electorate in general?

Or was this one big tactical voting game where the UK voters voted Conservative in a bid to stem the influence and power the SNP might have had, and the Scots vote the SNP into Westminster in order to increase our voice and influence?

What about everyone else who doesn’t fall in to either of these two camps?

According to The Electoral Reform Society using the D’Hondt proportional voting system the Conservatives would have won 75 fewer seats but would still have been the largest party in the Commons. Labour too would have taken fewer seats. However the SNP’s dramatic increase in seats would have been curtailed to 25 and UKIP, the Lib Dems and the Greens would have fared much better.

No business or even the X Factor would ever consider introducing such a bizarre voting system, as you would end up upsetting many more people than you would ever satisfy. I’m not suggesting that creating a situation where UKIP increases its seats and power is a good thing, but it begs the question of whether the time for real, genuine and radical political reform has indeed arrived.

Given the continuing radical political and societal changes we are experiencing in Scotland I would suggest that we are indeed ready for a revolution.

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