Government remains deaf to warnings on voter registration

We welcome the fact that the government has finally listened to reason on many of our concerns but the devil is in the detail. The bill might work on paper, but making it work in practice is another matter. Older people, younger people and any of us planning on moving home are still in danger of slipping through the cracks.

‘The government continue to ignore the warnings from registration officers and charities who are all saying the same thing: that crossing their fingers and hoping for the best is not good enough. We need a safety net to ensure that millions of us do not lose our say at the next election.’

‘There is still a lot of work to be done. This massive change comes in right before a General Election and is no time for shortcuts. If millions of British voters don’t have a say, British democracy will suffer.’

We’re delighted that the government has responded to our call for a full annual canvass in 2014 as without it anyone who moved home or turned 18 between December 2013 and May 2015 would not even have been invited to register under Individual Electoral Registration.

‘It’s also extremely encouraging that the government have listened to reason on the opt-out which would have allowed people to simply tick a box to ‘opt out’ of registering. This was absurd: It’s not a mailing list, its British democracy and nobody should be ‘opting out’.

1. The Electoral Commission has warned the change could bring registration rates down from over 80% to as little as 65%. See Electoral Commission response to Government white paper.
2. Electoral Reform Society response to the White Paper
3. Civil society and EROs raise issues with plans for IER in Missing Millions report
4. The Electoral Reform Society is an independent campaigning organisation working to champion the rights of voters and improve UK democracy.
5. To find out more visit www.electoral-reform.org.uk

In last Thursday’s election voters across Britain went to the polls. But for voters in Scotland and England this was a tale of two Elections - and England drew the short straw.

"Scottish voters got more choice at the polls and more chance of deciding who speaks in their name in their town halls. And while most Scots got a councillor they backed for their trouble, most of the English just threw their votes away.

"Glasgow has transformed itself from rotten borough to a multi-party democracy. Scotland now has a local democracy we can all be proud of, and getting rid of First Past the Post made that possible. With the Single Transferable Vote people have got a real say on who runs their local authorities. Voters in England should settle for nothing less.”  

Rebel MPs need to look again at their own priorities, because sabotaging the coming legislative programme will not magically create jobs or balance the budget.

 
“Of course Lords Reform will loom large over the next session, but MPs who claim they value parliamentary time should think twice before they start wasting it on a personal crusade.

“The government is moving to fulfil a manifesto commitment, and if MPs suddenly don’t like the promises that are being kept, the time for dissent was before the last general election. All parties must remember their pledges and ensure this unfinished business doesn’t trouble another parliament.”

 

It’s clear the vote against AV was not a vote of confidence in First-Past-the-Post.  It certainly wasn’t a get out of jail free card for the forces who want to keep our parliament stuck in the 19^th century.”

• Most UK adults (52%) agree that the UK should use a different voting system that would give parties a share of seats in Parliament that more closely reflects their share of votes.
• Just 1 in 5 UK adults (21%) disagree

In hundreds of wards across the UK voters will not get the chance to have their say this Thursday. These elections were a done deal without a single vote being cast.  But once again Scotland has left the plague of uncontested seats behind.   

“We know that the First Past the Post system used in England and Wales and here in Scotland for Westminster elections gives us seats so safe that it’s not even worth anyone else standing.  If you’re lucky you might get a paper candidate faxed in from central office.  

“Now Scotland has a local democracy we can all be proud of. With the Single Transferable Vote people will get a real say on who runs their local authorities this week. But while we live in a fairly elected multi-party democracy we should remember our fellow voters in England and Wales, and encourage them to settle for nothing less.”  

British voters abandon British democracy

Electoral Reform Society Respond to Joint Committee on Lords Reform Report

It is deeply disturbing that the Committee can’t seem to agree on the basic principle that we should be able to elect our representatives. There is a real danger that the political interests at play here will undermine this important reform before it even gets off the ground.

Of course the parties don’t want to lose control over who sits in the House of Lords - politicians are very good at defending the interests of politicians, but we cannot let the turkeys veto Christmas. If you hold the power to help decide how Britain is run you should be elected by us, the British public. That’s democracy. No-one should be able to inherit or buy a place in the British parliament.’

There is clear public support for electing the Lords. No amount of Minority Reports will change the majority view.’

The call for a referendum looks suspiciously like political game playing rather than an honest desire to know what the public think. In fact between 54-82% of the public have supported an elected upper house since 2000.

‘In these difficult times we need a smaller more effective and efficient House of Lords that when it comes to the economy, jobs and our public services - actually represents British voters.’
 

The Electoral Reform Society welcomes that…

The Electoral Reform Society is concerned that

Support for a UK constitutional convention

We would welcome the establishment of a UK constitutional convention, as suggested by the first minister, Carwyn Jones. The Coalition and the previous Labour government only looked at individual pieces of the constitutional jigsaw.

A UK constitutional convention would allow politicians and
voters to consider the big picture and how it all fits together.

There is a strong argument to give equal representation to UK constituent nations; however this proposal should not be used as a delaying tactic by those who are against the principle of an elected Upper House. We’ve been waiting for Lords reform for over 100 years. Public opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of change; and the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all backed reform in their 2010 manifestoes.

The Electoral Reform Society would urge MPs and peers to give careful consideration to equal representation for Wales, but all parties must stay committed to reform."

Lords Rebels should remember their manifestos

We can understand why unelected Lords might have little time for accountability or manifesto commitments. These MPs have no such excuses.

Every one of these wannabe-rebels ran for parliament on a promise of Lords Reform. Now they seem prepared to sacrifice their own government’s entire legislative programme to bury it. It sends a strong signal to their constituents that their manifestos weren’t worth the paper they were printed on.

The government is right to stick to its guns. No party went into the last election defending the status quo, and if Lords Reform is ever to see the light of day it will require all parties to stay committed.”

If we’re going to have a serious conversation on party funding, we need to keep all the options on the table. We won’t find a solution by kicking any ideas into the long grass.

 

“It’s easy enough to say policies aren’t for sale: voters expect nothing less. The difficult bit is achieving a genuinely level playing field at election time. And if that’s going to be achieved we need to consider the merits of spending and donations caps and public funding.

 

“If politicians are serious about taking the big money out of politics they need to put personal prejudices and partisan interests aside and get on with it.”