Proportional Representation: Critics of the British Electoral System 1820-1945

Offering the first scholarly history of the proportional representation movement, Hart explores its origins in the early nineteenth century and analyzes the contribution of major political thinkers such as Thomas Hare and John Stuart Mill. She traces the history of the early campaigns and the progress and vicissitudes of the cause through the twentieth century. Based on extensive research, this is an accessible and comprehensive study which throws light on many of the questions which bedevil contemporary political commentators. Hart demonstrates the inadequacy of the commonly made identification of proportional representation with liberalism, and explains the failure of its supporters to achieve its adoption in the U.K., with the exception of Northern Ireland.