September saw the long awaited launch of Labour for a New Democracy: an exciting joint project to secure a commitment to PR at the 2021 Labour Party conference. The race is now on to mobilise support among Labour and union members across the UK. We’ve rapidly expanded our cross-party speaker programme, taken part in virtual party conferences and continued developing our volunteer programme. An all-activist call at the end of the month will start to plan our next big grassroots intervention. continue reading
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 DemocracyThe 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.
Similar articles
Why Make Votes Matter is proud to support Better!
By Make Votes Matter CEO Emma Harrison. Like a lot of people who campaign for fair votes, I've never been all that interested in the mechanism for its own sake. It's rare to find someone who grew up dreaming about D'Hondt formulas or STV ballots. What I care about is what a fairer, more proportional…
Read more
Our message to Andy Burnham: Make electoral reform a priority
Today Andy Burnham officially became the new leader of the Labour Party. On Monday he’ll be sworn in as Prime Minister - our fifth in four years. Over and over again, First Past the Post gives power to governments most people didn’t vote for, poisons our political culture, and breeds instability. The situation is only…
Read more
Frustration in Makerfield at a system no longer fit for purpose
By Reuben Bance, Fundraising Coordinator at Make Votes Matter. Heading North on a train to Wigan on a cloudy Saturday morning would normally be a mundane affair; a journey to see family, or to meet up with an old friend from university. But this is a Saturday morning in early June, so the context is…
Read more
Report Launch: What Could Future Electoral Systems Look Like?
Blog by Emma Harrison, CEO of Make Votes Matter. This week, Make Votes Matter published a new report examining the electoral systems that could replace First Past the Post (FPTP). While discussions about voting systems can sometimes seem technical, they raise a fundamental question about the health of our democracy: does Britain's electoral system still…
Read more
Make Votes Matter at Liberal Democrat Conference
By Emma Harrison, CEO of Make Votes Matter. As a cross-party, non-partisan organisation, we attend events across the country, and across the political spectrum, to champion Proportional Representation. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Liberal Democrats’ Spring Conference in York, at a fringe event on electoral reform. One thing was clear…
Read more
The Gorton and Denton By-Election Shows Clearly What’s Wrong with FPTP
By Livvy Gibbs, Young Make Votes Matter Coordinator. We do not yet know how the Gorton and Denton by-election will end. But we can be almost certain that, whatever the outcome, most voters won’t get the MP they wanted. All polls are pointing to a very close race between the Green Party, Labour and Reform. Unless something…
Read more