Scotland's Tea Party
So here's a post that I published last year in the wake of the UK Labour leadership election - in which Ed Miliband pipped his older brother David at the post - to win the crown.
Now everything was within the rules - so there are no sour grapes - except to say that 'rules' were also in place during the MPs' expenses scandal.
And as everyone knows that didn't stop 'honourable' members claiming for dog food and floating duck houses - allegedly to help MPs carry out their parliamentary duties more effectively.
What happened in the UK election was that David Miliband won two sections of the electoral college - the most votes of individual party members and MPs - but he lost the contest overall because younger brother Ed won big in the trade union section.
Which is as completely daft as it sounds.
The result in Scotland - when it finally comes - may be even more interesting than the drama of the two Miliband brothers.
Because most trade union members in Scotland these days vote for the SNP - not the Labour party.
Let's see what happens - I'm so excited I can hardly wait.
6% = 70% = 90% (September 26th 2010)
The Labour party's electoral college makes about as much sense - as one of the Mad Hatter's tea parties.
But to be fair it has done what it was designed to do - which is to give union leaders undue influence over key party decisions - by galvanising a small handful of union activists to vote in a particular way or, as in this case, for a particular candidate.
Democracy it ain't - instead it's all about machine-like, Tammany Hall politics - also known as vested interests and raw power.
Consider for a moment the voting figures which decided who would be the next Labour leader - and potentially, at least, the country's next Prime Minister.
199,671 trade unions votes were cast in the trade union section of the electoral college - 80,266 for David Miliband and 119,405 for Ed Miliband.
Before the ballot took place the unions were boasting that around 3,500,000 trade unions members would be invited to vote - in a veritable orgy of union democracy.
Yet the turnout of around 6% means that ordinary union members voted with their feet - apart from a tiny number of union activists - who have no claim to represent the views of the wider membership.
The voting figures also confirm that Labour's electoral college is to democracy - what Alice in Wonderland is to quantum mechanics.
Because the Miliband of brothers received the votes of 122,806 individual Labour party members - 66,814 for David Miliband and 55,992 votes for Ed Miliband.
Before the ballot - Labour claimed 170,000 members would be entitled to vote - so the turnout of party members is respectable - at just over 70%.
MPs voted in even greater numbers, as you would expect, and cast 262 votes in total - David Miliband receiving 140 and his brother Ed receiving 122 - so the turnout amongst MPs was well over 90%.
Yet all three sections of the electoral college get the same weighted vote - i.e. 1/3rd, 1/3rd and 1/3rd.
So the end result is that some votes are much more equal than others.
In Labour's electoral college reality is turned on its head - much like Alice in Wonderland - with the incredible effect that somehow or other - 6% = 70% = 90%.
Whatever this is it's not democracy - more trade union members voted (199,671) than the entire Labour party membership (122,806) - which just about says it all.
Maybe these people were Tory, Lib Dem or SNP supporters - seeking to influence the outcome - who knows?
But what we do know is that the new Labour leader was not elected by his own party members - which is a sad day and a bad day - for anyone with a passing interest in democracy.
