[EM] Re: Duverger's law and British elections

[MIKE OSSIPOFF]

Alex--

You asked:

Does anybody know why Duverger's Law has been so stubbornly resisted in 
Britain for 80+ years?  I'd be genuinely curious to know.

I reply:

At least partly because Britain is a parliamentary system. People know that 
the Parliamentary seat they're voting for isn't everything to the govt, as 
our presidency is.

Yes, Congressional seats are even less all-important, because Congress 
doesn't choose the executive. But our directly-elected father-figure greatly 
strengthens Duverger's law here. That and our greater isolation, which makes 
people more inclined to believe in "the two choices" offered to them by 
their tv.

Mike Ossipoff

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