Updated
Two articles appeared today which relate to this subject.
First, Peter Ould wrote about the problems of discovering the full election details from the dioceses. See Through a Glass Darkly.
I thought it would be interesting (with my psephological hat on) to have a look at the full returns from the recent General Synod elections, to see whether I could pick up any interesting insights on the voting patterns. The full returns are the rather long pieces of paper (handily normally produced on a spreadsheet for easy consumption) that help explain all the transfers and quotas that are used in the STV election system that the Church of England utilises for its elections. For a worked example, see here on the fabulously wonderful Elections Ireland website…
Update Peter has now published the (not quite complete) results that he has collected. See (Almost) Full General Synod Election Results. If you can help him complete the task, please respond to him.
Second, Elaine Storkey has written at Fulcrum about Who won the General Synod elections and what hope for women bishops?
As the Church House machinery grinds into action, mailing out a truckload of papers for November’s inauguration of the new General Synod, it is interesting to reflect on how this new Synod will respond to some of the issues it inherits from the old. At the centre of these is, of course, the draft legislation on women bishops. Canon Simon Kilwick, chairman of the Catholic Group cautions against any tacit assumption that this will go through in 2012, since there has been a ‘shift in the landscape’ of Synod. However, there is always a shift in the landscape of synod, as change occurs after every election: older members retire, some leave for many different reasons, and others are not re-elected. What this current ‘shift’ actually represents needs therefore to be carefully interpreted…
“The real work goes on in the interaction of those who disagree, in the exposure of people to views and outlooks which are different from their own” – Elaine Starkey – I found this statement by Elaine Starkey much more useful than the plaintive moan of Peter Ould, who seemd miffed that he was unable to trumpet the success of the conservatives in the elections to General Synod. What Elaine says is something that General Synod has never really seemd to knuckle down to – a real debate on the issues of gender and sexuality within the Church. The current… Read more »
the plaintive moan of Peter Ould, who seemed miffed that he was unable to trumpet the success of the conservatives in the elections to General Synod
Where did that come from? I think you read far too much into my post…