Strategy is key in assessing the proportionality of the Single Transferable Vote

The Single Transferrable Vote is in use in several countries, most notably Australia, Ireland, India, and Scotland. It is held up as one of the more proportional systems, and frequently advocated as an alternative to the First Past the Post system in use in the UK. But just how proportional is it? David Farrell argues that determining the answer rests on understanding party strategy.