MPs launch new push to change Britain's voting system to proportional representation | The Independent. A fresh push for a proportional representation voting system has been launched by a group of MPs from almost every party in Parliament. They are proposing a motion to the House of Commons which declares the current voting system not "fit for purpose" and calls for the Government to implement a switch to PR. It follows petitions calling for the change that have received the backing of some 500,000 people. Senior Labour figure Chuka Umunna, who proposed the motion, said: “Since the general election last year, the pressure is building and a consensus is coming together behind the need to change the system.
"The Brexit vote has added to that, underlining people’s discontent with the voting system. " The motion laid today has also been signed by representatives from the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Ukip, the SNP and Plaid Cymru. It then demands the Government, "bring forward legislation to introduce a system of proportional representation for elections to the House of Commons. " Reuse content. SNP to debate new single transferable vote system for Holyrood elections. HOLYROOD'S combination of constituency and regional MSPs could be ended under plans due to be debated by the SNP. Members have tabled a motion for the party's conference in October calling for future elections to be fought under the fully proportional single transferable vote system (STV). The move would end the present hybrid system which elects two kinds of MSP, with 73 of the 129 representing constituencies and the remaining 56 in eight electoral regions.
Supporters say switching to STV would be simpler for voters, who face different systems in Holyrood, Westminster, European and council elections. They also say it would make the parliament more accountable to voters because all MSPs would have to win a personal mandate from the electorate. At present, voters pick a party to represent them in the regional vote. Individual candidates appear on lists controlled by the parties under what is known as the "additional member" system. It does not set out the new system in detail. Jonathan Reynolds' Proportional Representation Speech. Brexit and our broken electoral system. This is a guest blog, originally published by Noel Longhurst.
The opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Electoral Reform Society. Ever since the result of the EU referendum became clear early last Friday morning, those on the side of Remain have sought to point the finger of blame. Depending on your particular perspective, Leave voters, David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn, and Boris Johnson have all been incriminated. Some excellent analyses of the causes of the result have already emerged, but one factor that has not been widely acknowledged is that Brexit is fundamentally the consequence of an electoral system that is no longer fit for purpose. Moreover, it was actual New Labour who missed a unique opportunity to reform the system in the early 2000s.
Electoral reform appeared to be an important issue for Labour when it first got elected back in in 1997. Secondly, in recent decades FPTP has disenfranchised large sections of the electorate. Why elections are bad for democracy | David Van Reybrouck | Politics. Brexit is a turning point in the history of western democracy. Never before has such a drastic decision been taken through so primitive a procedure – a one-round referendum based on a simple majority.
Never before has the fate of a country – of an entire continent, in fact – been changed by the single swing of such a blunt axe, wielded by disenchanted and poorly informed citizens. But this is just the latest in a series of worrying blows to the health of democracy. On the surface, everything still seems fine. A few years ago, the World Values Survey, a large-scale international research project, asked more than 73,000 people in 57 countries if they believed democracy was a good way to govern a country – and nearly 92% said yes. Trust in the institutions of democracy is also visibly declining. There is something explosive about an era in which interest in politics grows while faith in politics declines. We discuss and debate the outcome of a referendum without discussing its principles. Should we redraw constituency boundaries? Esther McVey, Conservative candidate for Wirral West, after a recount is announced at Wirral Tennis Centre during the General Election Count on 8th May, 2015.
Wirral West is the country’s smallest constituency. ©Peter Byrne/PA Archive/Press Association Images Scroll down to read three more contributions on this issue from Gloria De Piero, Lord Robert Hayward and Tom Brake There is no doubt that Britain’s constituency boundaries should be updated. It is true that, Scotland apart, the current boundaries were first used as recently as the 2010 election. At the 2015 election the smallest constituency in England, Wirral West, contained just over 55,000 registered voters. Meanwhile, Wales is heavily over-represented. These two features of the current boundaries have partisan consequences. The new boundary review will help to reduce this inequality. There is, though, more to the new review of boundaries than this. First, the number of MPs will be reduced from 650 to 600. A partisan plan. Blame the politicians, not the electoral system. Donald Trump, US Presidential candidate, speaks to 2000 supporters in Louisville, KY, USA, on “Super Tuesday,” 1st March 2016.
©Lexington Herald-Leader/ABACA/PA Images Read more by Peter Kellner: How Labour could get rid of Corbyn Here in Britain, both main parties are badly divided: the Conservatives over Europe, Labour over Jeremy Corbyn. It’s not unusual for either to be fractious, but I cannot recall a time when both have been so deeply divided at the same time. Increasingly, voices are heard proposing that they should split. One proposal is that we should have a choice of seven substantial parties: socialists, social democrats, greens, liberals, two centre-right parties (pro- and anti-EU) and far right nationalists.
(That’s for England; the choice for Welsh and Scottish voters would be slightly different but no less varied.) The trouble is that under our present first-past-the-post voting system, that wouldn’t work. It is great to see that you are enjoying the Prospect website. The integrity of UK elections is damaged by disproportionality, voter registration procedures and media coverage. The UK performs poorly when it comes to issues of electoral integrity, lagging behind European neighbours but does particularly poorly when compared with Scandinavia – which, as is the case in many fields, thoroughly outperforms Britain.
Here, Pippa Norris looks at the reasons why, pointing to voter registration procedures, electoral laws, media coverage, constituency boundaries, and the counting and results process. Issues of electoral malpractice have received growing attention in the UK. The House of Commons Library briefing on Electoral offences since 2010 gives details of the reports published by the Electoral Commission and the Associations of Chief Police Officers on cases of alleged malpractice. Questions have arisen over insecure postal ballots, proxy voting, and fraudulent practices. Polling Day in the UK General Election The UK General Election on May 7th 2015 certainly generated several media reports of alleged malpractices and shortfalls: Problems in UK elections.