Earlier this week I was delighted to join other members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Elections to see the launch of the terms of reference for a National Commission on electoral reform (NCER).
The NCER would ask 4 questions:
- What are the criteria for a suitable voting system for general elections in modern Britain?
- Does the current FPTP voting system meet these criteria?
- Are there other voting systems which might better meet these criteria?
- Based on these criteria, on balance, which voting system would best serve modern Britain?
I have heard the argument that a change in the voting system would suit Reform. It is true that in a proportional system, smaller parties receive a fairer share of the vote. Yet the reasons for the rise of Reform are complex and one facet of their rise is due to the disconnect between the British people and their political system. The sense that votes don’t count and there is little point to voting is one that permeates all 4 corners of the United Kingdom. If we allow this to fester then our democracy will face continue to face challenges, most notably from the far right. First Past the Post is broken, with some winners in the May local elections being elected with just 19% of the vote. We cannot afford to see this continued disparity between how the public votes and the representatives that are elected. I hope that the Government will recognise this and put their support behind a NCER.
