A cross-party group MPs will address Britain’s “flawed” voting system in a House of Commons debate on Thursday.
The parliamentarians, representing six parties and every region and nation of the UK, will urge the government to establish a national commission tasked with proposing a “fair and democratic replacement to First Past the Post [FPTP]”.
The backbench business debate was proposed by members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections and follows the commons vote late last year, when MPs backed a symbolic motion on proportional representation by 138 MPs to 136. Those in favour included 59 Labour MPs.
Speaking ahead of the debate this afternoon, Labour MP and chair of the Fair Elections APPG Alex Sobel said: “I’m delighted that the House of Commons is having a full debate on Proportional Representation, following last month’s historic vote.
“The current voting system is producing parliaments that are less and less representative of how the British people vote — and this is badly undermining trust in our political system.”
“MPs across the divide are urging the government to set up a National Commission for Electoral Reform, to recommend a fair and democratic replacement to First Past the Post.”
The debate also follows a poll, conducted by YouGov, which recorded support for changing to a proportional voting system at 48 per cent. Conversely, just 24 per cent of those polled said they supported for maintaining the current FPTP system.
Liberal Democrat MP and APPG vice chair Lisa Smart MP said: “There is growing, deep concern about the way our electoral system distorts and denies — rather than delivers — the democratic will of the people.
“This concern is evident both outside and inside parliament. To tackle this, I’m backing the call for a National Commission on Electoral Reform. The commission should engage fully with the voting public as an integral part of its work in coming up with the right way forward for our citizens and our democracy.”
Research into the 2024 general election by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) last year found it was the most disproportional in British history. The group noted that Labour received 63.2 per cent of House of Commons seats on just 33.7 per cent. An increase of 1.6 per cent in the party’s 2019 vote-share had seen it more than double its seats to 411.
Green Party MP and APPG vice chair Ellie Chowns said: “First Past the Post is broken. Its chief contribution to our politics is to drive instability, apathy, and disengagement. The public have made their view clear; the two-party system of old is gone, yet our voting system is keeping it on life support against their will.
“We need our political institutions to bolster trust in politics, not contribute to undermining it. It’s time for a National Commission on Electoral Reform, to identify and implement a voting system that ensures all votes are equal and every voice is heard.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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