Long time listener, first time commenter. James's question was an absolute banger.

Tom Scott made a video some years ago explaining the reasons that digital/online voting is an incredibly bad idea. TL;DR: It's effectively impossible to prove there has been no hacking/fraud.

If Farridge wants a referendum on PR then surely he can't argue with a new referendum on rejoining the EU? After all we had a chance to scrap FPTP in 2011. As they say down here in New Zealand, "Yeah, right"

In NZ a model of PR called mixed member PR has worked very well for over 25 years-we need to revisit this issue

If we’re gonna have PR, we need to properly enforce candidate vetting. Some of the reform candidates are bona fide nutters. ‘Oh the small-moustached German wasn’t all bad’

Great question abut one's vote counting. But it is still the case in many areas of the country that it doesn't, and probably never will. I live in the South Wales valleys and it doesn't matter what I vote. Whoever they pin a red rosette on will always win here, whether the wearer is animal, vegetable or mineral! Guys, for all the drawbacks, the only fair system for elections is some flavour of proportional representation.

Digital voting in Parliament would be a great idea rather than the nonsense with lobbies.

Here in most of North West England it's been labour for 60 years plus and most of the area is awful and getting worse. There will be levelling but it won't be up judging by this area of UK

HoL. Scrap hereditary peerage. Limit the Lords to the same amount of MP's. I like the age limit idea. That would be a start.

On the suggestion that older people should not be allowed to vote, in England and Wales people over 70 are not on the list of potential jurors (based on electoral registration, as it happens). So in a sense, the precedent is there. However, when it comes to the franchise an age cut-off is far too blunt a tool. Those whose mental capacity has severely declined are unlikely to cast a vote anyway.

The voting system can't make up for the electorate being cretinous. 17.6m voted for Brexit which is insane, as you should be aware.

Excellent question James. That's why PR of some type is required.

1) The parties are radicalised because the party members rather than MP's choose the leadership.

If online voting is so bad, why do all internal elections for all parties use them? This means the prime minster is actually voted by an online poll

Dystopia Warning! Look at your local independent candidates. Don’t automatically replace the ESTABLISHMENT with the ESTABLISHMENT by voting for Labour. Nothing will change under Starmer!!! Obviously.

Remind you all that the 26 counties that make up the Republic of Ireland had PR introduced by the British Authorities in 1918, and has retained it since then. Sky has not fallen in, yes government is by coalition and there were some short lived administrations in the 1980's but the system serves the country well and of all the nations of the world, the Republic of Ireland is probably one of the most similar to the UK culturally and socially. Just saying.....

To answer the question "how many people's votes in the country actually make a difference?" then if you take the principle suggested for "making a difference" then the answer is almost certainly that zero people's votes in the country actually make a difference!

Really we Need a Proportional Represention system or an Australian style mandatory vote system as this first past the post system we have i think is really unfair we had 22% of the vote in 2019 voting Tory but they had the majority and brought in 5 years of absolute Chaos.

My wife just voted digitally in the French elections.

I’d love to know how often any of the ‘News Agents’ mix with ordinary, working people. Y’ know, go to a pub, travel on a bus, queue at McDonalds. Is their world to rarified?