‘Blame Farage for the Tory wipe-out!’ Or so went the rather limp voices in the UK, grasping for excuses following the massacre of globalist politics led by Rishi Sunak.

The desire for sensible conservative and libertarian-minded policy is on the rise, as is the renewal of cultural affection and nostalgia for decades past which appear to us now as the last flush of sunset chased over the edge of Parliament by the long night of left-wing rule.

So, why didn’t the conservatives win? Why isn’t the UK preparing for an age of economic liberalism and spiritual restoration? Why is Keir Starmer – the most radical socialist in a hundred years – strutting around Westminster preening his flock of Marxists?

Don’t blame Nigel Farage.

Blame the soggy wet Tories who valued their power above the needs of the people.

Blame the seat-warmers at the top in ‘safe seats’ who preyed on the long and grand history of the party as security against their reckless and activist politicking.

Blame a sad chain of leaders who refused to carry out Brexit because they, and their ministers, were miffed about spending five minutes standing in line to have their passports stamped instead of fighting to protect British waters from EU trawlers.

Blame the voters who stayed home, happy to watch democracy crumble while billions around the world pray that one day they may have the opportunity to vote.

And blame the voters who did show up, but lacked the courage to vote for principle and instead chose the faux safety of establishment.

Victory requires a dash of daring and a helping of faith.

If conservatives are to take one lesson from the activist Left, it’s this … we have to fight, as they do. Passionately. Relentlessly. Without fear. https://twitter.com/ellymelly/status/1808793789307498823

Social media is full of people – nameless people – insisting that democracy is an illusion. Their message? That your vote means nothing. So don’t bother. Stay home. Keep quiet. Separate into whispering groups at the corners of the soon-to-be censored digital realm. There is no future in this approach. Certainly not with both parties cracking down on social media.

Disparaging the vote is usually an expression of despair.

Allow me to assure you of this… Your vote does count. Your vote has power. Provided it is used.

Just as a thousand people in the street can frighten a Parliament, 20 million people at the ballet box can flip a government.

Had UK conservatives voted for Reform, Nigel Farage would have the Opposition. He may even have the government. But they did not. They stayed home. The vote was split not by minor parties, but by a lack of courage.

The disparity between voting share, as raised by Reform to the fury of the Left, is valid. There is something wrong with a political system where the Liberal Democrats can win 3.5 million votes and take home 72 seats, while Reform UK wins 4 million votes but only holds 5 seats. No question, Farage has a point.

There is a similar problem where the disparity of population is such that the towering cities of our nation, where half the residents are new to this country and still finding their feet, hold policy power over the regional areas – the generational farms, growers of our food, and custodians of the natural landscape. Those who have never sown a field should not dictate the tax on a bag of wheat.

Democracy has always been a balancing act to make sure the brutal force of the majority does not overwhelm the rights of the individual and that the cities do not cannibalise the regions with their misguided virtue.

Keeping these scales balanced means the system must be reviewed. It is a review conducted when the public suspects something has gone wrong.

That said, it is interesting that the British press is full of conservatives lusting after Australia’s preferential voting. They assume, wrongly, that preferences would have saved the Tories – or boosted Reform. Neither is true for certain. For every seat where preferences advances Reform, there is more likely a seat where preferences will work the other way, and elevate another party. This is doubly so in an optional voting system where the most politically radical and enthusiastic show up to vote, which is disproportionately populated by the Left and sectarian groups who deem it a spiritual requirement rather than a democratic calling. It is a behaviour that has entrenched identity politics to the detriment of the wider community.

In the Australian system of preferential voting combined with compulsory voting, the outcome tends to be a fair representation of the will of the people. Transplanting our system in the UK is unlikely to happen so talking about that rather than the issues I have raised seems like misdirection. Australia knows from experience that preferential voting was implemented by the major parties – the uniparty – for its protection. We see in the Senate the government of the day receiving support on contentious legislation from the Opposition. Passing the Digital ID Bill was a good example. The Liberals preferencing the ALB ahead of One Nation in Western Australia in 2022 cost the Liberals control of the Senate . Yet voters followed the how to votes and cut their nose to spite their face. Voters failed to shoe courage and vote in the own best interests…

While Nigel Farage may not have won as many seats as he would have liked, he did win seats. First-past-the-post makes it easier for minor parties to tip the balance of power in their heartland and scare the heck out of conservative movements that abuse their legacy.

With another election cycle, Reform elected members may very well prove Reform is sufficiently appealing to convince hesitant conservatives to ‘jump’ – a leap of faith to save the nation.

As for Australia, the corruption and decay of establishment power has its roots deep beneath Canberra.

We have to fight at the ballot box to shuffle the deck of power and restore balance. The major parties require sensible boundaries, a moral core, and the voice of the people. This is provided by minor parties. While we are yet to see minor parties take the House of Representatives, although that will happen one day, they can populate the Senate and hold the political class to account or put a handbrake on their worst ideas. Independent and minor party senators are the reason this country has not fallen entirely off the rails. With more support, with your support, they can begin the process of restoration.

One Nation is not a protest vote, it is a safety net – a force that stands against those who would dismantle Australia for a cushy job at the UN.