Every six months or so, since November 2019, the pollster YouGov have been asking the British public the following question regarding electoral reform.
Some people support a change in the British voting system to proportional representation, where the number of MPs a party wins more closely reflects the share of the vote they receive.
Other people support retaining our present voting system, First Past the Post, which is more likely to give one party an overall majority in the House of Commons and avoid a hung parliament.
Which voting system would you prefer?
YouGov asked this question most recently on 4 December 2024, which is the first time it has been asked since the general election of July 2024, which saw the most disproportional UK general election result in history
The results of YouGov’s latest poll reveal that support for changing to a proportional representation system continues to run at levels seen prior to the general election. Indeed, the gap of 21 percentage points between those indicating support for proportional representation (44%) and those wanting to retain First Past the Post (23%) is the biggest in any of the eleven surveys in which YouGov have asked the question, since November 2019. This is the first time in the series that fewer than a quarter of people have backed retaining First Past the Post.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, backing for proportional representation is strongest among supporters of parties that have traditionally found it hard to translate votes in the country into MPs in the House of Commons. For example, 62% of people who voted for Reform UK at the 2024 general election back a move to PR, while just 17% favour sticking with First Past The Post. At the general election, Reform UK received 14% of votes but under 1% of MPs.
The Liberal Democrats have historically suffered a similar fate to Reform under First Past The Post, with their share of seats lagging behind their share of votes. However, at the 2024 general election they managed to nearly overcome this, winning 11% of MPs, from 12% of the public’s votes. Despite this, support for electoral reform among Liberal Democrat voters has remained at exactly the same high level as in January 2024, with 58% favouring a move to proportional representation and only 22% wanting to stick with First Past the Post. This continued strong support for proportional representation among Liberal Democrat voters matches that of Liberal Democrat MPs in parliament, with the House of Commons recently voting in favour of Sarah Olney MP’s 10-minute rule bill proposing the introduction of proportional representation for UK general elections.
Labour voters still back proportional representation
Perhaps most striking, however, is the continued strong support for proportional representation among people who voted for Labour at the 2024 general election. Despite the party they voted for winning a landslide victory under First Past the Post, Labour voters back a move to proportional representation over retaining First Past the Post by two to one, with 48% in favour of electoral reform and just 24% in favour of the status quo.
Data from the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, in 2021 and 2023, found majority support for a change to a proportional representation system for the first time since the BSA question on electoral reform was first asked in 1986. One of the key drivers in proportional representation achieving majority support in the BSA survey, in both 2021 and 2023, was a big shift in the views of Labour supporters, with them strongly favouring proportional representation over First Past the Post in both years. Prior to 2021, Labour supporters had always favoured First Past the Post. When the next BSA data on electoral reform are published it will be fascinating to see whether it echoes those of the most recent YouGov data, in showing support for proportional representation among Labour voters remaining strong despite the party winning a landslide due to First Past the Post in July 2024.
If that is the case, it may become increasingly hard for the Labour leadership to maintain their position of opposition to PR. Labour conference voted in favour of a move to proportional representation in 2022, the two largest Labour-affiliated trade unions, Unison and Unite both back it, as do many Labour MPs. And now, in poll after poll, it is clear the public are tired of First Past the Post. It’s time for Labour’s leadership to catch up.