Lord Chelwoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will summarise the reasons why they continue to favour proportional representation based on the single transferable vote for the proposed Northern Ireland Assembly, apart from the fact that this method has been used before.
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (The Earl of Gowrie)Given the nature of Northern Ireland society, there is a particularly strong case for a system 591WA of proportional representation for elections to Northern Ireland's local political institutions. Of the various systems of proportional representation available, the use of the single transferable vote in multi-member constituencies has the advantages of ensuring a high degree of proportionality while maintaining stronger links between elected representatives and their constituencies, because most, if not all, constituencies will have elected representatives from all the main parties. It allows adequate representation of minority parties while excluding those with minimal support.