Latest news with #FirstPastthePost
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proportional representation campaigners to tour Carlisle, Penrith, and Kendal
Campaigners across Cumbria and North Lancashire are calling for urgent electoral reform. Supporters of proportional representation are planning a day of action across the region on July 5. The regional campaign, organised by the North and West Cumbria and North Lancashire and South Cumbria branches of Make Votes Matter (MVM), will include leaflet distribution, and discussions with the public. Volunteers are encouraging the public to support proportional representation by signing petitions and writing to MPs. Anne Margaret and Danny, representing Make Votes Matter, said: "With trust in politics at catastrophic lows, our democracy can no longer survive First Past the Post. "The 2024 General Election saw a government win a landslide victory on just 34 per cent of the vote. "With millions of voters turning away from two-party politics, there is every chance that in 2029 we could wake up to a government elected on less than 30 per cent of the public vote. "We can't afford to let this continue. "The need for electoral reform is more urgent than ever." The day will begin in Carlisle in the morning, move to Penrith around midday, continue to Kendal in the early afternoon, and end in Lancaster later in the day. Campaigners will travel in a convoy of cars decorated with MVM branding. The event is part of Democracy Action Weekend, a nationwide campaign featuring rallies, public meetings, and outreach activities. A member of the Cumbria group said: "Where I live, is a marginal two-party seat, so every election we are afraid that if we don't vote tactically, we will get an MP that we really don't want. "We cannot vote for our preferred candidate, and it's nerve-racking, hoping that enough people will vote 'sensibly'. "I'm not surprised that so few people turn out to vote." Organisers argue that the current First Past the Post system 'distorts public opinion' and leaves millions of voters unrepresented. More than 150 Parliamentarians have joined the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections, the largest active APPG in Westminster. Organisers said reform is needed to ensure 'a politics reflective of the people, in which all votes are counted, and all voices are heard.' The MVM groups in Cumbria and North Lancashire run regular campaign activities and are currently welcoming new supporters. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Anne Margaret Smith at MVMNorthLancashire@ or Danny Smith at dsmithsearc@
The National
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Support for UK electoral reform is at a record high. Here's why
A total of 60% of the population now want to change the voting system 'to allow for smaller parties to get a fairer share of MPs', according to the British Social Attitudes survey. This change is backed by a majority of supporters of all parties and by those with low levels of trust and confidence in government. The figure represents a staggering increase of 33% since 2011, when less than a third of people wanted to change the system. READ MORE: Here's what we learned from John Curtice's new polling report A report – compiled by Professor John Curtice, Alex Scholes and Aisha Chabdu and entitled Britain's Democracy: A Health Check – shows how just 36% of people are now happy with the first past the post voting system staying as it is. The authors concluded voters seemed to feel the choice between Labour and the Tories at the General Election was 'a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee'. For the first time, more than half of people (53%) say they would prefer a coalition running the UK than a one-party government (41%). It comes after the Labour Party managed to secure a huge majority of MPs in the Commons last July despite winning just over a third of the vote. Willie Sullivan, senior director of campaigns for the Electoral Reform Society, said the General Election in 2024 was the 'most disproportional ever' and clearly showed people are now voting in a multi-party way. He said: 'Public support to change the electoral system has hit a record 60%, according to the latest British Social Attitudes survey, showing a clear majority want to ditch Westminster's distorting First Past the Post system. 'This surge in support comes after last year's General Election was the most disproportional ever, meaning the current Parliament least represents how the whole country voted of any in history. 'The General Election and this year's local elections also showed that people are clearly voting in a multi-party way, and we now need a proportional voting system that accurately represents how they are voting with the MPs they get at Westminster. 'Having a fair and accurate voting system is a crucial step to restoring trust in politics, which the latest BSA results also alarmingly found has slumped to a record low.' The below graph shows how people's attitudes towards the voting system have changed, with a dramatic shift forming over the past five years. (Image: British Social Attitudes Survey) Despite Labour clinching this landslide victory, the survey suggests there has only been a slight decline since 2023 in Labour supporters' backing for electoral reform, with 55% still in favour of change. The survey also showed just 12% trust governments to put the interests of the nation above those of their own party 'just about always or most of the time' – which is a record low. Only 19% think the system of governing Britain needs little or no improvement. In its conclusion, the report says the survey has 'left some significant questions hanging over the continued health of Britain's traditional system of democracy' with the authors suggesting many voters felt the choice between Labour and the Tories was like 'a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee'. It said: 'What the election does appear to have done is to provide an opportunity for some voters to express their discontent by voting for parties that posed an unprecedentedly strong challenge to the country's traditional, limited panoply of political parties. 'Those with low levels of trust and confidence were markedly more likely to vote for Reform or the Greens, thereby helping to push the share of the vote won by the Conservatives and Labour combined to a record low. 'For many, the choice between the two parties of government looked too much like a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.' READ MORE: Corbyn-led party would attract 10 per cent of vote, poll says The traditional demographic division between middle and working-class voters that had long provided the foundation of support for the Conservatives and Labour respectively showed 'no signs of re-emerging', the report said, with voters age and educational background mattering much more. The authors warned that while the debate on electoral reform is important, people should not jump to conclusions that changing the voting system would restore faith in government. 'We should be wary of anticipating that changing the electoral system would prove sufficient to restore voters' faith in how they are being governed,' the report said. 'Ultimately, they are looking for more effective government than they feel they have enjoyed in recent years, not least in respect of the economy and public services. The key question ultimately facing Britain's democracy is whether it can deliver.'
The National
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Why has electoral reform support reached record high in UK?
A total of 60% of the population now want to change the voting system 'to allow for smaller parties to get a fairer share of MPs', according to the British Social Attitudes survey. This change is backed by a majority of supporters of all parties and by those with low levels of trust and confidence in government. The figure represents a staggering increase of 33% since 2011, when less than a third of people wanted to change the system. READ MORE: Here's what we learned from John Curtice's new polling report A report – compiled by Professor John Curtice, Alex Scholes and Aisha Chabdu and entitled Britain's Democracy: A Health Check – shows how just 36% of people are now happy with the first past the post voting system staying as it is. The authors concluded voters seemed to feel the choice between Labour and the Tories at the General Election was 'a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee'. For the first time, more than half of people (53%) say they would prefer a coalition running the UK than a one-party government (41%). It comes after the Labour Party managed to secure a huge majority of MPs in the Commons last July despite winning just over a third of the vote. Willie Sullivan, senior director of campaigns for the Electoral Reform Society, said the General Election in 2024 was the 'most disproportional ever' and clearly showed people are now voting in a multi-party way. He said: 'Public support to change the electoral system has hit a record 60%, according to the latest British Social Attitudes survey, showing a clear majority want to ditch Westminster's distorting First Past the Post system. 'This surge in support comes after last year's general election was the most disproportional ever, meaning the current Parliament least represents how the whole country voted of any in history. 'The general election and this year's local elections also showed that people are clearly voting in a multi-party way, and we now need a proportional voting system that accurately represents how they are voting with the MPs they get at Westminster. 'Having a fair and accurate voting system is a crucial step to restoring trust in politics, which the latest BSA results also alarmingly found has slumped to a record low.' The below graph shows how people's attitudes towards the voting system have changed, with a dramatic shift forming over the past five years. (Image: British Social Attitudes Survey) Despite Labour clinching this landslide victory, the survey suggests there has only been a slight decline since 2023 in Labour supporters' backing for electoral reform, with 55% still in favour of change. The survey also showed just 12% trust governments to put the interests of the nation above those of their own party 'just about always or most of the time' – which is a record low. Only 19% think the system of governing Britain needs little or no improvement. In its conclusion, the report says the survey has 'left some significant questions hanging over the continued health of Britain's traditional system of democracy' with the authors suggesting many voters felt the choice between Labour and the Tories was like 'a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee'. It said: 'What the election does appear to have done is to provide an opportunity for some voters to express their discontent by voting for parties that posed an unprecedentedly strong challenge to the country's traditional, limited panoply of political parties. 'Those with low levels of trust and confidence were markedly more likely to vote for Reform or the Greens, thereby helping to push the share of the vote won by the Conservatives and Labour combined to a record low. 'For many, the choice between the two parties of government looked too much like a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.' READ MORE: Corbyn-led party would attract 10 per cent of vote, poll says The traditional demographic division between middle and working-class voters that had long provided the foundation of support for the Conservatives and Labour respectively showed 'no signs of re-emerging', the report said, with voters age and educational background mattering much more. The authors warned that while the debate on electoral reform is important, people should not jump to conclusions that changing the voting system would restore faith in government. 'We should be wary of anticipating that changing the electoral system would prove sufficient to restore voters' faith in how they are being governed,' the report said. 'Ultimately, they are looking for more effective government than they feel they have enjoyed in recent years, not least in respect of the economy and public services. The key question ultimately facing Britain's democracy is whether it can deliver.'
Daily Mirror
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Farage's Reform UK reached a 'tipping point' - and it's worrying news for Labour
Analysis of the local election results by the Electoral Reform Society shows Reform getting an almost 10-percentage point 'winner's bonus' in their haul of council seats last Thursday compared to their vote share Reform UK have reached a 'tipping point' where Britain's electoral system works for them rather than holding them back. Nigel Farage's party has long opposed the First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system which holds back challenger parties. But analysis of the local election results by the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) shows Reform getting an almost 10-percentage point 'winner's bonus' in their haul of council seats last Thursday compared to their vote share. Across 22 of the 23 councils contested last Thursday, Reform won just under 31% of the vote but garnered just over 40% of the seats, leading to a 'winner's bonus' of 9.8 points. In the 2013 local elections - when Ukip got its strongest vote - the party got just 5% of the council seats available, despite winning 20% of the vote. The ERS analysis shows that just a 12.2-point increase in Reform's vote share in 2025 compared to UKIP's in 2013 has resulted in a huge 35.5-point increase in council seat share. Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: "It is clear from these results that UK elections are turning into a random lottery to see which party will get the 'winner's bonus' under First Past the Post. " But in worrying news for Labour, Keir Starmer's party suffered the greatest electoral penalty from the FPTP system at the local elections, seeing a difference of -8.2 points, with its 14% vote share yielding just 5% of council seats. Labour benefited from the system hugely in last year's general election, turning a slim lead in votes to a huge commons majority. The FPTP system saw Labour win a landslide 63% of the seats in Westminster on just 34% of the vote [2], leading to the most disproportional parliament in British history. Mr Hughes added: "At these local elections we again saw that people are voting in an increasingly multi-party way and our two-party voting system is simply unable to cope. "That is why it is throwing out distorted results that don't represent the way people voted with parties winning majorities on councils on just over a quarter of the vote. "This just underlines the need to move to a fairer, proportional electoral system for town halls, as well as Westminster, that accurately reflects the way people vote in the seats parties receive. "Rather than gifting different parties massive electoral bonuses that don't represent the votes they won, the only bias the electoral system should have is to the voters."
The Herald Scotland
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
'Don't laugh but Kemi Badenoch could well be next Prime Minister'
Mr Farage's Reform UK party has topped nine of the last 13 opinion polls, with the other four resulting in a tie with Labour. And in a 'real' poll of voters last Thursday, the party emerged with by far the highest vote share which, extrapolated into Westminster, would have resulted in Reform winning almost as many seats in the House of Commons as Labour and the Tories combined. We have seen a similar trend in other countries around the world. A population, despondent about the impact the cost of living is having on their lives and disillusioned with their mainstream political offering, looks for an alternative. The alternative emerges, usually in the form of a strong and outspoken figure, speaking their language and offering some hope for them. That hope is generally based on the abolition of three things: net zero (it makes you cold and poor), immigration (they're taking your jobs), and wokery (what a lot of nonsense). The formula has had success already, most obviously in the United States with the re-election of Donald Trump, and perhaps second most famously in Italy with the election of Giorgia Meloni, who has taken her Fratelli d'Italia party from two per cent of the vote to the Palazzo Chigi in less than a decade. Mr Farage would probably liken his rise more to that of the namesake Reform Party of Canada which, in the space of 16 years between 1987 and 2003, eroded the vote of the Progressive Conservatives, killed them, ate them, and created a new Conservative party which went on to win three elections. So, we have seen it happen elsewhere, and we could see it happen here. Read more by Andy Maciver First Past the Post is the blunt instrument of electoral systems. A party can go from an insignificant number of seats (Mr Farage won only five last year despite winning nearly 15 per cent of the vote) to hundreds (Sir Keir Starmer's Labour won over 400 on only one-third of the vote share) once a tipping-point of vote share is achieved. Furthermore, should Reform UK, Labour, and the Tories all win between 150 and 200 seats in 2029, but with Mr Farage in first place, the pressure on the Conservatives to get behind a party whose values many Tories share, and help them into government, will be overwhelming. So, that is a version of the future. It is credible. It is possible. But it is not inevitable. Indeed, there are two counterfactuals which have at least reasonable credibility. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is the re-emergence of support for the Labour party. Sir Keir has made a dismal start to his time in office, with an unprecedented drop in support to somewhere in the mid-20 per cent range, where it has been stuck for around six months. Nonetheless, Sir Keir has time on his side. Labour's vote share, although low, seems stable, and may have hit its floor. Nigel Farage (Image: PA) As time passes and memories of some of the more unpopular decisions fade, Sir Keir's undoubted competence and authority may start to raise the red boat. Indeed, the looming reality of Mr Farage may convince some more voters from the centre of the Conservative party, and the Liberal Democrats, to back Sir Keir to stop him. Mr Farage's party, of course, may yet implode. We have been told of the end of two-party politics before, often by Mr Farage himself, only for his UKIP party, or his Brexit party, to fall out with itself and, for one reason or another, not fulfil its potential. There are already internal problems in the Reform UK party and, with hundreds of new local councillors, Mr Farage will be concerned about how many skeletons are hidden in closets, waiting to get out and damage his prospects. Circumstances sometimes call for the clever, boring centrist. Just ask Pierre Poilievre, who was due to stroll into 24 Sussex Drive, the residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, before the population rushed towards the safe and dependable arms of Mark Carney in the face of President Trump's intimidation. So, Labour again? Maybe. But there is a second counterfactual, less obvious at the moment, but nonetheless something which will no doubt sit at the back of the mind of Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader. Support for Ms Badenoch's Tories has certainly not risen since she took the leadership in the wake of her party being gutted at the election, but it has not fallen, either. It is stable enough, and in most polls sits only a few percentage points behind Labour and Reform UK. Read more This is as much about mathematics as it is about politics, and looking dispassionately at the numbers, the path to Downing Street for Ms Badenoch has far fewer twists, turns, and potholes than at first may seem the case. In reality, only two things need to happen, both of which are perfectly possible. The first is that the Conservatives have to win more seats than Reform UK. Not inevitable, but absolutely possible. The second is that, between them, the Conservatives and Reform UK need a Parliamentary majority of 326 seats. Again not inevitable, and the Tories would need to add some 50 seats to their current tally, but absolutely possible. The confluence of these two events would most likely end up in Kemi Badenoch becoming Prime Minister. There is a perfectly reasonable point to be made, in that event, that she would be a puppet to Mr Farage the puppet-master; in office but not in power. That may be true, but it is a different argument for a different day. Politics is historically volatile. Brexit. The 2019 election. President Trump's re-election. How many times have we been told something is impossible before it becomes reality? It may be too early to be sure that Mr Farage and Reform UK are here to stay until 2019. It may be too early to write off Sir Keir. By the same logic, then, it is far too early to write off Kemi Badenoch. Andy Maciver is Founding Director of Message Matters, and co-host of the Holyrood Sources podcast.
