Voting: Minority Rule?

Blair won the 2005 General Election with 35.3% of the total votes cast. However, as there was only an estimated 61.3% turnout on Election Day, this means that Blair was re-elected to office with the votes of just 22% of the eligible electorate. In what way can Blair and Brown claim to have a mandate from the nation to run the UK as they sees fit when less than a quarter of the populace have given them their approval?

The fact that they are willing to ignore public opinion and pursue policies that are unpopular and against our interests (the continuing war in Iraq, for example) proves how little regard they have for the electorate, despite the 2005 clear message that the vast majority of the UK don’t support them.

Perhaps this is why Blair has done nothing to change the “first past the post” system and given us something more representative of public opinion.