New parliamentary group brings us a step closer to PR

November 25, 2024

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New parliamentary group brings us a step closer to PR

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.

Today’s launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections is a big step forward for electoral reform in the UK. With almost 100 MPs joining, nearly half of them Labour members, the APPG is sending a clear signal: the time for electoral reform is now.

At the heart of its agenda is a bold call for a “national commission on electoral reform” to recommend a fairer, proportional system for general elections in which everyone’s vote counts equally.

As the APPG’s newly-released report makes clear, the distortional First Past the Post voting system leads many to conclude – rightly – that their vote doesn’t matter. Scrapping it is essential to addressing record-low trust in politics.

Low trust and First Past the Post are two sides of the same coin

The disconnect between votes cast and seats won has become impossible to ignore. Recent polling commissioned by the APPG reveals that 64% of the public believe the country’s electoral system must be addressed before the next election. This is understandable when at the last election, only 1 in 5 eligible voters backed Labour yet saw it win two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. All the while, 6 in 10 of those who voted were left without proper representation in Parliament.

In this way, First Past the Post is deepening disillusionment with politics and eroding faith in democratic institutions. Sir Keir Starmer’s acknowledgement today that “plenty of people” did not want Labour to form the government is a welcome show of humility. But it’ll take more than words to turn the page on distrust in politics.

The APPG’s report proposes a “national commission on electoral reform” that engages citizens and experts as a route out of these democratic doldrums, in line with MVM’s groundbreaking Good Systems Agreement. The government should take note.

By engaging the public directly in the process of designing a new voting system, the commission can help build broad consensus about the way forward, and make meaningful strides toward restoring trust in politics. It’s a helpful reminder to those in power that the public should not be just a spectator but an active architect of democratic change.

Growing momentum in Parliament

The APPG launch also highlights the growing momentum for PR in Parliament, especially within the Labour Party. While Labour benefitted disproportionately from First Past the Post in 2024, winning one seat for every 24,000 votes on average, nearly half of the MPs in the APPG are from Labour. This reflects the Party’s official commitment to reform. Policy in favour of changing the voting system has the overwhelming support of members and a majority of affiliated trade unions.

Before the election, the leadership also accepted the case for a change: its official policy programme highlighted First Past the Post’s role in driving “the distrust and alienation we see in politics”. Failure to act on those words now would smack of insincerity, only adding to growing public concern that what the government said before the election no longer applies.

Although Labour is key to delivering the change the public wants to see, for MVM, electoral reform has never been a partisan issue. The depth of cross-party support on show in the ranks of the APPG and MVM’s Alliance for PR is proof that politics can rise above self-interest and look to the public interest instead.

This is the most pro-PR Parliament we’ve ever had. The democratic imperative is clear: First Past the Post has to go. Downing Street should embrace the consensus on change and lead the formation of a national commission on electoral reform.

A mandate for change

The message is clear: reforming the UK’s electoral system isn’t just about fairness – it’s about rebuilding public trust in the keystone of our democracy, the voting system. At MVM, we will continue to work closely with the APPG to mobilise grassroots and parliamentary support behind this call for change. A national commission on electoral reform, with citizens at its heart, offers a practical path forward. It’s time for the government to step up.

Feature image credit: APPG for Fair Elections

Some photos from the APPG launch

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