At least, argue the supporters of our system, every four or five years voters have a clear choice - stick with the lot we've got, or change to the other lot. That's the limit of our choice. Our voting penalises parties whose support is evenly spread geographically, and this includes the Liberal Democrats. People realise this and many therefore consider a vote for the Lib Dems to be a wasted vote. What is more, even that degree of choice is increasingly illusory. After the blip of the first Thatcher government, both parties have been seeking what is now the centre ground. Only a small minority realises it is a centre ground that promises the destruction of civilisation.

In fact it is not really the centre ground the parties seek, but rather the policies supported by swing voters in marginal constituencies - a small, and arguably atypical, minority of the electorate.