Here’s how we’ve briefed MPs ahead of the Westminster debate on proportional representation

Author:
Jessica Garland, Director of Policy and Research

Posted on the 28th January 2025

On 30th January, MPs will be meeting in Parliament to debate proportional representation – a welcomed and vital opportunity to discuss a fairer and more representative democracy for all.

Support for electoral reform within Parliament is gaining momentum. This debate follows the success of a Ten-Minute Rule Bill raised by Sarah Olney at the end of last year, in which she made the case for a voting system that treats everyone fairly. Moreover, over 100 MPs  have joined a parliamentary group on electoral reform – upping the pressure on the government to take action on our failing voting system.

Our work behind the scenes

Building connections with politicians is incredibly important in mobilising change.

Our work behind the scenes consists of meeting with MPs and their staff to better understand their democratic concerns, gathering information and identifying politicians who share our goals. We are building our reputation as a trusted source of information by providing evidence-based research on a variety of democratic issues.

We work closely with other organisations in the democracy sector to support MPs in raising democratic issues with the government and organising events to facilitate conversations amongst politicians around our policy issues.

In preparation for this week’s debate, we have been actively encouraging MPs to attend and speak out in support of fair votes. To support this, we have provided them with our key research – emphasising how the voting system is truly letting down voters.

The key findings that we have shared…

First Past the Post is no longer fit for purpose

The 2024 General Election broke a record – and not a good one. It was the most disproportional election result in British history.

This means that the way the British public is represented in Westminster looks nothing like how people actually voted. The First Past the Post system delivered a parliament in which the government secured their majority in Westminster from just 34% of the vote.

The system is leaving voters voiceless. In 2024, a total of 73.7 percent of votes did not directly affect the outcome of the seat – that’s a total of 21.2 million voters, simply ignored by the system. What’s more, in 554 constituencies (85% of all seats), more people voted for losing candidates than voted for the winning candidate.

Trust and participation in politics is falling

A healthy democracy needs healthy levels of democratic participation – one measure of which is turnout at general elections. So it is a concern that the 2024 General Election saw the second lowest turnout since the start of universal suffrage, with only 59.9% of people turning out to vote, narrowly beating the previous low of 59.4% in 2001.

There is a crisis of confidence in our democracy. Research released last year found that a record high of 45% now say they ‘almost never’ trust governments of any party to place the needs of the nation above the interests of their own political party.

Furthermore, voters are being forced to work around a broken system. Millions feel they have to hold their nose at each general election and opt for someone that wasn’t their first choice. In 2024, our research showed that 28% of voters had opted for a tactical vote. Voters shouldn’t have to try and find a work around to get their voice heard.

Support the ERS

As momentum builds for electoral reform, your support is more important than ever. Our members support our work in parliament like this, as well as in the press and online – making the case, and backing it up – for how we can fix Westminster’s broken system.

Become an ERS member today

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