Normality? No, I don't think I'm familiar with the concept

It looks like the idiots have won the referendum. The referendum was hamstrung by the phrasing of the question. If it had been something like, "Do you want to change the way in which MPs are elected to parliament?" I am sure the result would have been an overwhelming "Yes!" Just look at all the clamour for electoral change from the general public, as well as many MPs, over the past couple of years, and any idiot can see that FPP is no longer fit for purpose. And yet, the question was phrased so that it made people think that AV would be the only system. No-one thinks long-term these days, that's the trouble. This "No" vote means that we're going to be stuck with FPP, and they're not going to offer us another referendum on changing the voting system for something else - they never were. But if there had been a "Yes" vote, the next general election would have been with AV, which would have given progressive parties a greater share of power, and eventually they would have given us another referendum to change to a better system of PR. But the Tories are scared they'll never get in power again, and the Lib Dems didn't push hard enough for a better question. So now we're stuck with the same shit system we've had since Britain started using elections, and we're not likely to see any change for the better for at least another decade, if that. This is the sort of thing that makes me want to resurrect Guy Fawkes.