Geographic Representation in Parliament

Michael Gallagher begins with the idea that geographical constituencies create legislators who are not necessarily motivated in the national interest, but merely in the interest of their constituency, to whom they ultimately answer on voting day. By eliminating geographical constituencies, such motivations could be shifted, such that the national interest would be more prominent than local interests. I do not think that the proposal will have the effects envisioned by the author. The author would replace the system of proportional representation in the lower house with members at large.

The first thing to note is that the upper house is already constructed without geographic representation, so there is some form of this in government already. But it is also worth considering that the politicians elected might not have the strong national interest that Gallagher envisions. First, they may be more geographically-concentrated. This is likely because they will be more likely to come from major cities.

This is because the voters are concentrated in the big cities, especially Dublin, and politicians who wish to be elected under the author's proposed scheme will need to cater primarily to their interests. The major cities will therefore see an increase in the numbers of their citizens in the lower house. Moreover, members from elsewhere will still need to cater to the interests of the big cities. The smaller counties and towns will have very little representation, because nobody will be elected on the basis of their votes.

Thus, their issues will not be relevant. The mistake that the author is making is to conflate the interests of the big cities with those of the entire nation. The cities are important in many respects, to be certain, but the nation as a whole is comprised of both city and country.

The country's interests will be left unattended in the lower house without proportional representation, and there is no evidence that the new body of representatives will cater to the national interest, and in particular they will not when that national interest conflicts with the interest of those in the big cities -- what Dublin wants, Dublin gets. It is this inherent conflict that brought about the system of proportional representation in the first place. I believe, therefore, that the proposal will damage the political landscape.

The conflict between rural areas and urban ones will only intensify. There will be parties and candidates strictly devoted to rural interests to try to secure a few votes from those areas. Moreover, this will open.