On Tuesday we held our second Alliance Building Conference (ABC) in Parliament to plan the next phase of the cross-party campaign for Proportional Representation. Some exciting plans were set in motion which we’ll share with you next week – and we’ll invite you and everyone who wants fair votes to get involved.
The ABC was the culmination of an unbelievably busy month and a half of party conferences and events. Our team attended seven different conferences to make plans with party members, have crucial conversations with scores of MPs and key figures, put on major fringe events and run exhibition stands.
Keep reading to find out what we got up to, and if you haven’t already, please consider donating to our Crowdfunder to support this vital work. Since launching this fundraising appeal on Monday we’re already one third of the way to our £20,000 target, thanks to hundreds of people giving what they can. Contributions of any size are a huge help and we’re offering some fun rewards. Thank you for your support!
Trade Union Congress: 10th – 13th September
Our conference season started with TUC 2017. Trade unions have a vital role to play in winning fair votes, not only because pro-PR unions like PCS and Napo are really effective campaigners, but because the unions are so influential in the Labour Party. And as we know, Labour needs to come round to fair votes.
MVM Facilitator Klina Jordan spoke at the fringe event organised by the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform and chaired by Billy Hayes, former General Secretary of CWU. Other speakers included Howard Beckett (Unite), Sam Tarry (TSSA), Nancy Platts (former union liaison for Jeremy Corbyn), Amelia Womack (Green Party) and Mary Southcott (LCER).
Great to speak at #TUC17 @Labour4PR fringe making the case for socialists and trade unionists to demand real change to our broken democracy! pic.twitter.com/gUDPttyEWk
— Samuel Tarry (@SamTarry) September 13, 2017
There’s real movement on the issue among some of the biggest unions. What’s brilliant is that we’re now working closely with the Electoral Reform Society and LCER to help some of the undecided unions come to a positive position on fair votes. Much more to do, but very promising.
Liberal Democrats: 16th – 18th September
At Lib Dem Conference, we co-hosted a drinks reception with the Electoral Reform Society. We had some great conversations with a reliably welcoming room full of liberal voting reform activists, and Klina and Darren Hughes, the new ERS Chief Exec, set out plans and opportunities for the coming year.
Thanks to everyone who made it to our, and @MakeVotesMatter‘s reception at #LDConf! Don’t miss our lunchtime fringe tomorrow pic.twitter.com/SYXqFfxzND
— Electoral Reform Soc (@electoralreform) September 17, 2017
Klina stayed at Conference to attend related fringe events and meet with the party’s MPs, Peers and other figures. The Liberal Democrats have long been supporters of PR. We’re keen to make sure it’s something they not only advocate but campaign on as we work to bring them together with all the other parties on this issue.
Labour Party: 24th – 27th September
We pulled out all the stops for this year’s Labour Conference. On the eve of the conference we published the second edition of our Labour Report. We launched it at an event featuring Clive Lewis, Rupa Huq, Stephen Kinnock and Tulip Siddiq, co-hosted with JRRT, Compass and LCER. With LCER, we held a second event – a larger rally – with a speakers from across Labour’s political spectrum. And we collaborated with Compass to run a breakfast workshop on PR and political alliances.
Standing room only for this evening’s #Lab17 fringe and report launch with @Labour4PR @CompassOffice @JRRT1904 https://t.co/EAozhuMJ1U pic.twitter.com/swONnthH0a
— Make Votes Matter (@MakeVotesMatter) September 24, 2017
Brilliant group of people talking Proportional Representation on the @MakeVotesMatter panel – could have filled the room twice over! #Lab17 pic.twitter.com/6mQyWZSyAd
— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) September 25, 2017
We’re kicking off our rally in Brighton. I’ll be live tweeting with #MakeVotesMatter pic.twitter.com/WR6Vl6ILHp
— Make Votes Matter (@MakeVotesMatter) September 26, 2017
Our director of policy and research @JessicaJGarland addresses @MakeVotesMatter and @Labour4PR rally on PR. #Lab17 #TheTimeIsNow pic.twitter.com/gKc87dTElc
— Electoral Reform Soc (@electoralreform) September 26, 2017
“We can paint this prison purple, green and white” – @quietloner #MakeVotesMatter pic.twitter.com/j9kb7KXViZ
— Make Votes Matter (@MakeVotesMatter) September 26, 2017
Throughout the four-day Conference, a team of volunteers from MVM and LCER ran an exhibition stand. They talked to hundreds of Labour members, signing them up to invite speakers on PR to their local parties, and we spoke to dozens of Labour MPs including – as a consequence of our work during the conferences the number of Labour MPs who support PR has now gone up to 79!
Thanks to Jo Platt MP, Llyod Russell-Moyle MP & PPC Paula Wakefield for dropping by our stall to chat PR @MakeVotesMatter @Labour4PR #Lab17 pic.twitter.com/bKai8Clt9K
— Joseph Moore (@_JosephMoore_) September 26, 2017
Standing up for proportional representation @makevotesmatter @KensingtonCLP pic.twitter.com/TkQob5WUai
— Emma Dent Coad (@emmadentcoad) September 24, 2017
UKIP: 26th to 30th October
At this year’s UKIP Conference, Klina was invited to speak to the main conference hall, and made a non-partisan call for fair votes and proper representation. You can watch a video of her speech below.







