From rapping to samba drumming, singing parodies of pop and folk songs, to making passionate speeches, activists have been amplifying their voices to Make Noise for PR.
Read our blog about the summer day of action which took place at various locations across the UK on Saturday 31st July. Not just the UK though, we even had people in Brussels join the PR fiesta.
And what a joy it was to get together again after the easing of lockdown restrictions. And why were we doing it? To highlight the single biggest improvement our democracy so desparately needs; a fair voting system.
Our current voting system means seven out of 10 of us are muted at the ballot box, effectively with no voice, without a vote that matters. Make Votes Matter’s campaign for equal votes has always been about making our voices heard. And that’s why people across the UK and in Brussels were motivated to ‘unmute ourselves’ and stand up for what we believe in.
Planning for the event took place over several months. We held calls with MVM groups and campaigners and individual groups met to discuss how to get creative in their own towns and cities. MVM put together resources for alerting the media to the action day, and tips for spreading the word on social media. Opinion pieces by some of our prominent allies were written for national publications and lots of people got into the spirit of recording songs to perform on the day.
A video was made to show that where PR is used by our devolved nations and the London Assembly, people are represented – so it’s about time Westminster caught up!
The Senedd uses proportional representation
Holyrood uses proportional representation
Stormont uses proportional representation
The London Assembly uses proportional representationWhy not Westminster?
Join #MakeNoiseForPR tomorrow https://t.co/3KrT30pMoR pic.twitter.com/f7vLvQSEQa
— Make Votes Matter (@MakeVotesMatter) July 30, 2021
On the day we had samba drummers in Bath and banner drops in York and Cambridge. And in East London, campaigners against plans to use the First Past the Post (FPTP) system to elect the Tower Hamlets mayor came out on to the streets to protest against this move.
It was fantastic to see so many supporters out in force in so many different locations, breaking the silence on our broken voting system. Thanks to the wonderful efforts by so many supporters, media coverage and social media posts about the event have flooded in.
We even had a rap, below.
#MakeNoiseForPR pic.twitter.com/1qydB2WpGB
— DannyErgo (@batesabsergo) July 31, 2021
We've been out and about in #Bath with @XRBath samba, making a big noise for #ProportionalRepresentation #MakeNoiseForPR @MakeVotesMatter pic.twitter.com/qGfJgjFPpo
— MakeVotesMatter_Bath #MVM (@BathMvm) July 31, 2021
We ALL want our vote to Count !#MakeNoiseForPR https://t.co/EX4Xtmdhtl pic.twitter.com/BZ2dWlhA4c
— Deborah #3.5% 🐟 🔸🐬#ReJoinEU (@DNewtonC) July 31, 2021
We had a great reaction to our street stall on Saturday. Here we are as we #MakeSomeNoiseforPR
Join us if you want your vote to matter #MakeVotesMatter pic.twitter.com/KrJ0Ebp2Kz
— MVM North Lancashire #FBPPR (@MvmNorthLancs) August 3, 2021
In "honour" of our backwards First Past the Post voting system, here's a backwards video of us taking down the banners on Slver Street Bridge after today's #MakeNoiseForPR event.
It's time for #ProportionalRepresentation, join @MakeVotesMatter and #GetPRDone pic.twitter.com/izFqhqqk6I
— Make Votes Matter Cambridgeshire (@MVM_Cambs) July 31, 2021
Don't you wish your vote counted? We are a musical bunch in Manchester so #MakeNoiseForPR is an action we are happy to take. Enjoy the song and sign the petition – we need more PR, not less. 🗳️📢https://t.co/y3flipfhRr pic.twitter.com/zDXdJe767M
— Make Votes Matter Manchester (@MVM_Manchester) July 31, 2021
Hastings MVM – We're Singin in the Wind (for PR) #MakeNoiseForPR
A wonderful bunch of singers came together to add our voice to the chorus of MVM groups across the UK calling for fairer voting system. We thank all @MakeVotesMatter for everything to help us on the day. pic.twitter.com/2HFSyshTP1— Make Votes Matter Hastings (@HastingsMvm) August 4, 2021
"We want a Parliament that represents people fairly".
.@HectorMcGilliv1
.@ProEuropa_GB
.@acgrayling@MakeVotesMatter pic.twitter.com/wxFNoR6Jq2— Deborah #3.5% 🐟 🔸🐬#ReJoinEU (@DNewtonC) July 31, 2021
In Wimbledon to Demand Democracy to #makevotesmatter – #MakeNoiseForPR pic.twitter.com/4dYAO62Upa
— SWL #MVM (@SwlMvm) July 31, 2021
The brilliant @MVM_Totnes today with a foghorn to #MakeNoiseForPR! So pleased to be part of the local action today♥️ 😍
Get involved if you want #EqualVotes https://t.co/JRETKzM9wT pic.twitter.com/TSys0kRRNp
— Klina Jordan #MVM 🐘#FBPPR (@klinaj) July 31, 2021
Starting to liven up at Marlow High Street #MakeNoiseForPR pic.twitter.com/4lzWUgCu0I
— Diane Holden #FBPE #FBPA #3Point5Percent (@dianemholden) July 31, 2021
A suggestion coming out of the planning call for a chant that everyone could sing was to switch the lyrics of John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance, to Give PR a Chance. And here it is!
Here’s a snapshot of some of the headlines received about the summer day of action below. Visit our newsroom for many more news stories about Make Noise for PR.
And our grassroots movement was given a helping hand by some high profile figures including musician and producer Brian Eno who made this track to support the day. And ally and political activist Femi Oluwole made this little ditty which he released on the day, clocking up more than 220,000 views already, and counting. He also wrote a piece for The Independent.














