Welcome to the multi-party era

November 13, 2025

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Welcome to the multi-party era

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.

Everyone seems to be talking about the new multi-party reality we now find ourselves in. While many are wringing their hands and worrying about fragmentation, we see it as a wake-up call. The political landscape is now so split that it’s nearly impossible to predict the outcome of the next general election. What we can predict is this: if we continue using First Past the Post, we risk even more chaos — and even greater frustration among voters whose choices simply don’t translate into representation.

Our political system is still operating as if we are in the printing-press age. But we are not. In the digital era, people have more information, more choice and more voice. They are increasingly specific about what they support, and they are not afraid to say so — loudly; new research from King’s College and Ipsos shows just how diverse our views are. The disconnect between this 21st-century electorate and our 19th-century voting system has never been clearer.

Right now, five parties are polling above 10%, yet no party is above 35%. The next general election is still years away, and voters are already plotting tactical voting strategies. A recent YouGov poll for The Times showed that tactical voting is likely to be a decisive force: 57% of Liberal Democrat voters and 46% of Green voters say they would abandon their first preference and vote Labour if it meant keeping Reform UK out.

Tactical voting may be effective at stopping someone else from winning, but let’s be honest: it’s a negative vote. Nobody wakes up wanting to vote tactically. It’s not a positive expression of belief or hope — it’s damage limitation. And tactical voting isn’t a clever workaround; it’s a symptom of a broken system.

Proportional Representation offers the alternative.

Under PR, every vote counts toward the final outcome. Instead of voters having to second-guess what others might do, people can simply vote for the party or candidate that best reflects their values. The result reflects the actual will of the electorate — not the quirks of constituency boundaries or a system designed for a two-party world that no longer exists.

But PR isn’t just about fairness. It’s about enabling better politics.

Under First Past the Post, governments swing from one extreme to another. A party can win a large majority of seats with a minority of votes, undo the policies of the previous government, and then be replaced and have its own policies reversed in turn. Short-termism becomes embedded. Decisions are made for the next headline, not the next generation.

PR changes the incentives. As we highlighted in our Strong & Stable report, countries that use proportional systems tend to have more cross-party cooperation, more stable long-term policymaking, and better outcomes on issues requiring consistency — such as climate policy, infrastructure and public services. When parties know they may need to work together, the culture shifts. Consensus becomes valuable. Compromise becomes a strength. Decisions are grounded in what’s right for the long term rather than what’s expedient in the moment. And — crucially — voters come to trust the system more.

This week, Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, offered an olive branch to the Prime Minister, saying that he wants to work with the government on electoral reform. We hope Keir Starmer takes him up on that offer — not out of self-interest, but in response to the public’s demand for change. As Labour MP Anna Dixon put it in Renewal, “Today, maybe for the first time, a fair voting system feels not only a possibility, but a necessity.”

Labour came into power promising to restore trust in politics. If they truly mean this, changing the system is imperative. When people see that their vote genuinely matters, they re-engage. PR encourages hope rather than fear. Participation rather than resignation. It revitalises politics by allowing new voices and new ideas to emerge, instead of reinforcing the dominance of just two parties.

The multi-party era has already arrived. The only question now is whether our voting system will catch up. If we want to end tactical voting, lower the temperature of political discourse, build long-term solutions and let people vote for what they believe in — not merely against what they fear — then Proportional Representation isn’t just an option, it’s the logical next step in the evolution of British democracy.

By Emma Harrison, Make Votes Matter CEO.

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