More controversy engulfed Rochdale Borough Council today as councillors in Rochdale’s Labour run Balderstone and Kirkholt ward rolled out their new voting initiative just one day before the EU referendum. Dubbed DRS (an acronym standing for Diminished Responsibility System), the scheme operates on the principle of awarding percentages of a single vote to each individual depending on how old they are and how long they are expected to live.
Councillor Norman Packett explained: ‘Electoral reform has been on the cards for a long time now for a number of reasons, and one of the main reasons is to attempt to get more young people to vote. Younger voters have expressed feelings of disillusionment in polls when it comes to the democratic process, mainly it would appear due to their feeling their vote doesn’t count in a first-past-the-post system. As a result, they tend to vote less, and elections are often carried by swathes of elderly voters, who are more reliable when it comes to turning up at the polling stations. A lot of younger people feel it’s simply unfair that the elderly get to carry the same weight with their vote, as they’re not going to be around to suffer the long term consequences of any decisions they help to push through. DRS addresses this issue at the source, and is a much more equitable system of voting’.
Under the scheme, each voter is assessed as to the likelihood of their lifespan, and awarded a percentage of a vote depending on how long they’re likely to be around to see the consequences their vote has. ‘We do err on the generous side with the estimations; as this is a pilot scheme, we have to make sure that everyone is as happy as they can be with our decisions. For example, a seventy-five year old is unlikely to reach the age of a hundred, but we do allow for the possibility, so as they’re feasibly three quarters of the way through their life they would be allowed one quarter of a vote. Be aware that DRS cuts both ways as well, so a twenty year old drug taker on the Faringe estate who is highly unlikely to see his fortieth birthday would only be awarded half a vote’.
Despite only being unveiled in the past hour, the scheme has already met with harsh criticism. Local Brexit campaigner Irene Marsh told us ‘This is nothing more than a cynical ploy to garner more remain votes. It’s commonly accepted that the older you get the more reactionary you become, so it stands to reason more old people will be voting to leave. Stripping them of a full vote and only allowing them a fraction of a say is nothing short of barbarism’.
‘How is this meant to be democratic?’ she continued. We didn’t vote for this system; it was just another loony loophole law foisted upon us by the EU commission, who don’t have to undergo any form of democratic process whatsoever. I would urge Rochdale voters to vote leave tomorrow, but what’s the point? You’ve had three quarters of your vote taken off you’.
Packett remains adamant though that the scheme is more just, fair and reliable than the previous system. ‘I’m confident that DRS will be popular with the majority of voters. If it’s a success, which I’m sure it will be, then the Balderstone and Kirkholt pilot scheme will be extended to the whole of Rochdale for the 2017 local government elections, and then to the rest of the country beyond that for the general election and the 2019 European Parliament election’.
