Britanska Animal Welfare Party sretna s ishodom izbora

Britanska stranka za životinje, Animal Welfare Party (AWP) je 8. lipnja sudjelovala na parlamentarnim izborima. Stranka nije uspjela osvojiti zastupničko mjesto, ali je zadovoljna ishodom izbora s obzirom na političku situaciju u Velikoj Britaniji. Stranka je strateški sudjelovala u 4 izborne jedinice: Maidenhead, Hackney & Shoreditch, Lewisham Deptford i Hackney North & Stoke Newington. Ishod pokazuje porast glasova u odnosu na izbore iz 2015.

Predsjednica stranke, Vanessa Hudson, rekla je nakon izbora: “Vrlo smo sretni s rezultatima, s obzirom na pritisak koji se vršio na manje stranke – taj pritisak AWP nije osjetio. Veliko hvala svima koji su glasali za AWP, našim članovima i glasačima koji nas podržavaju!”

AWP u izbornoj jedinici

Zastarjeli britanski izborni sistem gotovo onemogućuje manjim i novim strankama da osvoje zastupničko mjesto u britanskom Donjem domu. Ujednjeno Kraljevstvo broji 650 izbornih jedinica i svaka bira jednog člana parlamenta. U takvoj jedinici bitan je samo pobjednik, onaj koji u jedinici skupi najviše glasova. Iako manje i nove stranke dobivaju mnogo glasova, to se ne vidi po zastupničkim mjestima jer nisu najveći. Tako se gube mnogi glasovi i glasači postanu manje zainteresirani da glasaju za manje stranke. Tako su ovi izbori bili obilježeni borbom između trenutne premijerke Therese May i njezine Konzervativne stranke i s druge strane Jeremyja Corbyna i njegove Stranke rada. Ovo još više otežava stranci za životinje da osvoji mjesta u Donjem domu.

On 8 June, the British Animal Welfare Party (AWP) entered the 2017 General Election. Despite having gained no seats, the party was still happy with the results given the political situation in the United Kingdom. AWP made the strategic choice to participate in four constituencies: Maidenhead, Hackney South and Shoreditch, Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and Lewisham Deptford. The results have shown an increase in the number of votes in comparison to the previous election in 2015.

After the election, party leader Vanessa Hudson stated: “We are delighted with the results, given the nature of the election and the squeeze felt by most small parties – a squeeze not felt by AWP. Huge huge huge thanks to all who voted for AWP, our members and supporters!”

AWP at polling station

Britain’s old-fashioned electoral system makes it virtually impossible for new and small parties to gain a seat in the House of Commons. There are 650 constituencies in the United Kingdom, each electing a single Member of Parliament. Only the winner of a constituency, the one with the most votes, counts. As new and small parties are often not the largest parties, despite getting many votes, they do not gain any seats in the House of Commons. This way, many votes are lost and voters have less incentive to vote for small parties. In addition, this General Election has been dominated by the battle between Prime Minister Theresa May and her Conservative Party on the one hand, and Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party on the other. This has made it even harder for the Animal Welfare Party to gain seats in the House of Commons.