Persuading the Labour Government on Electoral Reform

August 29, 2024

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Persuading the Labour Government on Electoral Reform

Over the past few hundred years, our society and democracy have developed and changed beyond recognition. However, our voting system has failed to keep pace. We believe that First Past the Post has no place in a modern democracy, and should be replaced by a system of Proportional Representation. If you agree, sign the petition. If you want to know why, read on:

Minority rule

The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it's the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we've had single-party 'majority' governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn't vote for and don't agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.

Proportional Representation means majority rule, not minority rule. With PR, any government must have a majority of votes behind it - so in order to govern, a party needs to either work collaboratively with other parties, or persuade most of us to vote for it.

Demand Real Democracy

The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.

I wanted to introduce myself as the new CEO of Make Votes Matter. I first got interested in Proportional Representation when I worked at the European Parliament. I enjoyed the collaborative approach and appreciated the importance of working cross-party to get things done. I got quite a rude awakening when I returned to the UK to work in public affairs for charities. Westminster is adversarial by design and I found it quite off putting, and you never knew whether the changes you secured to laws would survive a change of government. Right now, I think the low levels of trust in our system are a big risk to the health of our nation. We need electoral reform and fast.

Campaigning for PR under a Labour Government.

As the dust settles after the most disproportional election result ever, the debate over electoral reform remains a crucial issue, especially for those of us who believe that the current First Past the Post (FPTP) system is no longer fit for purpose. And there is a growing number of us. Just before the election, a survey found that a record high of 53% now say that the voting system used to elect MPs should be changed ‘to allow smaller parties to get a fairer share of MPs’.

While the Labour Party has benefited from FPTP this time, there are many within the party who support a more proportional system. Persuading a Labour government to change the voting system requires a strategic approach. Here at Make Votes Matter we’re using August to think about how to supercharge the campaign for Proportional Representation. And we’re not just thinking about the Government, we need to do more with you!

“Change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it” – Barack Obama

For those of you who’ve been involved with Make Votes Matter for a while, you know how important our local groups are to our campaign. Over the coming months we want to deepen our relationship with our local groups, share more intel and hear what they think we should be doing. We want to support new groups and find other ways in which people can support democratic reform.

The impact of the unfair system is keenly felt by younger people whose voices are so important. To ensure they are heard, we are convening MVM Youth Core. This group of young volunteers will help shape our future direction and spearhead new campaigns targeting politicians, social media and beyond. We’ll tell you more over the coming months.

We are working to broaden the range of people advocating for electoral reform and over the next six months we will invite more organisations and individuals from diverse political backgrounds to join the Alliance for PR.

We know that democratic reform isn’t top of the political – or public – agenda. Together we need to change that. To resolve some of the biggest issues of our time like climate change, inequality and social inclusion we need a political system that truly facilitates and incentivises collaborative decision-making. Our outdated and damaging current voting system hinders much-needed progress by propping up a two-party system that limits diverse representation and bakes instability into our policy landscape, perpetuating the multitude of crises facing our nation.

“I have changed the Labour Party, now I want to restore trust in politics” – Sir Keir Starmer MP

Trawl through social media, or have a chat with people down the pub and ‘they’re all the same’ is a common refrain in terms of politicians. More worryingly, many people don’t trust politicians to tell the truth. The National Centre for Social Research found 58% say they ‘almost never’ trust ‘politicians of any party in Britain to tell the truth when they are in a tight corner’. Too many people think it’s pointless voting, and under our current system it’s easy to see why. It’s easy to see why people struggle to truly trust a system that neglects millions of people’s votes and delivers a Parliament so out of step with the public that it represents. Nations using proportional systems are found to have higher voter turnout, as people feel their vote truly matters, tactical voting is greatly reduced and governments are more representative.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead

Only with clear public support, can Labour be encouraged to lead the UK towards a more representative and fair electoral system. At a time in which there is a national conversation around how to restore trust in politics, we need to make sure that any programme to address this has PR at the centre of it. Over the next few weeks I’ll be at various party conference events banging the drum for PR because the call for PR must be louder than ever. I’ll be sending regular updates to keep you up to speed on all developments because we cannot win on PR without you. We need your help.

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