Transforming How We Elect MPs

General elections are supposed to be the big events that allow us all to influence the direction of the country.

But that’s not what happens.

The way we elect MPs to Westminster means that our parliament doesn’t represent Britain, and those at the top can ignore the views of millions of us.

That’s because there isn’t a straightforward connection between how popular a party is at the polling booth and how many seats they get in the House of Commons.

This connection only gets more chaotic the more parties there are, as the system hands some parties more MPs than they should get, while others are penalised for no good reason. This means that the issues that are important in Westminster aren’t the same as the issues the public feels strongly about.

When Parliament doesn’t represent public opinion, it has a real impact on what laws get passed – it’s time we made sure seats matched votes so governments reflect how the country voted.

The House of Commons should represent us all

Britain has changed. Westminster hasn’t.

With five parties scoring over 15% in recent polls, it’s clear that the days of everyone voting for either Labour or the Conservatives are over. Yet we are saddled with a voting system that was designed for a two-party system.

Faced with results like these in a general election, First Past the Post could spit out some wild results.

Instead of building stability, it is increasingly creating distortions and unpredictable results: In 2024, we saw Labour win two-thirds of MPs on just one-third of the vote, and a majority of people now have an MP they didn’t vote for.

Building a big majority on low levels of public support is like building a house on sand, where small shifts in public opinion can lead to the whole thing tumbling down. The government can never deliver change when it is focused on shoring up its support.

Sticking with First Past the Post is not a safe option. We have a choice between a system that is increasingly out of sync with the way Britain votes, and one that reflects that reality.

Major issues can be disregarded

The way we elect MPs to Westminster means that politicians can ignore major issues. In the 2024 General Election, 58% of voters in the UK ended up with an MP they didn’t vote for.

Millions of people voted yet had no influence on the outcome. The issues they care about can be easily tossed aside, to be only dealt with when the problems have got so bad they are too much to ignore.

This isn’t inevitable. Most parliaments around the world use systems that mean they have to work on the major issues the public care about – because voters are in charge. You can find out about different ways of choosing MPs in our Voting Systems section.

Fostering division between us

Westminster’s voting system artificially divides the country, polarising us rather than allowing us to come together. While the results map can only have one colour per constituency, in reality, you’ll never find a town where everyone is the same.

Westminster’s system makes everything black and white, hiding the many areas of agreement. Every issue becomes a stick to defeat an opponent, rather than something to be solved to the advantage of all.

It’s impossible for one MP to represent everyone in their constituency – which is why in most countries around the world you get a group of MPs for each area, representing the mix of opinions in that area.

No guarantee of the right winner

Westminster’s First Past the Post electoral system normally delivers governments the majority didn’t vote for, but it also sometimes puts parties in power, even if they came second in the popular vote.

First Past the Post is the worst possible system for electing our representatives. We want to see the Single Transferable Vote, a fairer, more proportional voting system that makes seats match votes – and means no one’s voice is ignored.