Vince Cable says Ann Widdecombe would have won Strictly Come Dancing under First-Past-The-Post

Vince Cable makes the point at about one minute into the video below.

Comments

[WHS]

David Cameron makes the point about whether the systems would have changed who won last year's General Election. Vince Cable applies the lesson to Strictly Come Dancing. One-nil to Mr Cameron I think.

[Veteran]

Nice one Vince - good joke - at least as valid as the one by the no's' saying that Hussain Bolt wouldn't win the 100 metres.

[It doesn't add up...]

Is that because Ann Widdecombe is much more entertaining than Vince?

[drakes drum]

Is Cable suggesting that Ann Widdecombe received more telephone votes? If that is so the BBC has got some explaining to do. How did Cable come by this information. He has got to explain. He is insulting the fairness of the BBC, surely?

[George W. Potter]

He is pointing out that Widdecome got more views than any other contestant in the first round of voting for Strictly. Under FPTP this makes her the winner. However, once other contestants had been eliminated the majority of voters preferred another contestant to her and therefore she lost. This is the equivalent of an AV system.

[A Public Sector Worker]

"He is pointing out that Widdecome got more views than any other contestant in the first round of voting for Strictly. Under FPTP this makes her the winner. However, once other contestants had been eliminated the majority of voters preferred another contestant to her and therefore she lost. This is the equivalent of an AV system. "

No it isn't and it's very dishonest to suggest it is. AV has the eliminated candidates second choices reallocated, this is not what happens on Strictly or any of the other the reality vote cash registers as they are weekly programmes with essentially different votes. The only similarity with AV, and a tenuous one at that, is that each week they try to eliminate one candidate.

[Victor Southern]

None of these talent shows disclose the actual voting results so they are worthy of great suspicion. The producers of the shows now know that it is a winner to keep a hopeless case in place for as long as possible.

What is more and even Cable should be able to understand this there is never any intention of having a one round competition. The earlier rounds are designed as eliminators and not to produce a unique winner.

All of these similes, parables and celebrity fools only serve to obscure the real merits or demerits.

[robert]

I am sure Vince Cable is unhinged.
Strictly used FPTP every week until there was a winner at the end of the show after many weeks.
There was no question of Ann Widdecombe winning.
His ideas on AV versus FPTP are as stupid as his business and immigration pronouncements.

[Tomdaylight]

Vince Cable didn't even win his go on Strictly (which was actually conducted under a single FPTP audience vote!)

Strictly Come Dancing doesn't use the AV system currently on offer. If it had, it would indeed have been over in one go, and Ann Widdecombe may indeed have won it (I doubt most people would have put in more than a couple of preferences, so she would have ended up with over 50% at some point). It actually uses what I guess one could call Last Past the Post, given the contestant with the lowest number of votes gets booted off every week. Votes are not carried over. (And, err, people can vote more than once. Not something I hope Vince intends to carry over into politics, but you never really know with the Lib Dems...)

[George W. Potter]

"No it isn't and it's very dishonest to suggest it is. AV has the eliminated candidates second choices reallocated, this is not what happens on Strictly or any of the other the reality vote cash registers as they are weekly programmes with essentially different votes. The only similarity with AV, and a tenuous one at that, is that each week they try to eliminate one candidate."

Strictly uses a run-off system. AV is an instant run-off system (which is what it is in fact called in the US). The only difference between AV and an FPTP run-off is that AV does it all using one ballot paper.

[Steve Tierney]

I would have very much enjoyed Anne winning.

[Simon Too]

It is a good gag, not an eternal truth. Come to think of it, perhaps Dennis Healey was actually bluffing when he said that being attacked by Geoffrey Howe was like being savaged by a dead sheep.

[tory burch flats]

"He is pointing out that Widdecome got more views than any other contestant in the first round of voting for Strictly. Under FPTP this makes her the winner. However, once other contestants had been eliminated the majority of voters preferred another contestant to her and therefore she lost. This is the equivalent of an AV system. "

No it isn't and it's very dishonest to suggest it is. AV has the eliminated candidates second choices reallocated, this is not what happens on Strictly or any of the other the reality vote cash registers as they are weekly programmes with essentially different votes. The only similarity with AV, and a tenuous one at that, is that each week they try to eliminate one candidate.