Democracy groups are meeting MPs to push the voting system senior Tories are panicking about

According to the campaign Sort The System, “politics isn’t working”. It argues that this is chiefly because Westminster’s first past the post election system fails to reflect how people actually vote in elections. So, to aid its mission, the group will be convening in Westminster to tell MPs that “it’s time to sort the system”.

The move comes as senior Tories are expressing their dismay at the prospect of the electoral system changing:

Lord Cruddas "If Labour wins they will reduce the voting age, abolish voter ID, and introduce Proportional Representation making it impossible for the Conservative party to win an outright majority in the future" #FollowBackFriday #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/Xnbtbcst1C

— Dick Mackintosh🌹#StopTheWar (@DickMackintosh) May 18, 2023

First past the post versus proportional representation

There are now multiple groups in the UK campaigning for proportional representation:

If the working class in the UK is to advance, we have to get rid of a system which routinely lets the Tories have all the power with the votes of less than half of the people.

We need proportional representation.#SocialistSunday

— Socialists for PR (@Socialists4PR) May 14, 2023

Make Votes Matter has organised Sort The System. It argues:

Over the past few hundred years, our society and democracy have developed and changed beyond recognition. However, our voting system has failed to keep pace.

It goes on to explain:

The idea of a minority ruling over the majority goes against our most basic ideas about democracy. But with First Past the Post, it’s the norm. For about 90% of the time since 1935 we’ve had single-party ‘majority’ governments, but not one of them had the support of a majority of voters. The Conservatives currently hold a majority of seats with just 43.6% of the votes. In the 2019 election they gained an extra 48 seats despite an increase of only 1.2% of the vote share. Almost since the first general election, politicians who most of us didn’t vote for and don’t agree with have had the power to govern the UK however they like.

In contrast, Make Votes Matter notes that:

With Proportional Representation [PR] political diversity is reflected in Parliament, not suppressed. PR makes sure the share of seats each party gets matches the share of votes they receive. It would mean that if a party gets 20% of the vote, it wins 20% of the seats. Parliament would accurately represent the people’s range of views and perspectives.

Sort the System

On Wednesday 24 May, Sort The System will “bring hundreds of people from across the UK to Westminster to meet with MPs”. Organisers state in a press release that:

MPs will hear first-hand from constituents that the political system is not working for ordinary people because, under First Past the Post, Parliament does not properly reflect their views and needs as expressed at the ballot box.

The mass lobby will underline that, nearly 100 years since the Representation of the People Act was expanded to extend the franchise on equal terms to both women and men, the fight for equal votes is still ongoing.

For example, 71% of voters were unable to affect the outcome of the last general election, either because their votes went to candidates who lost, or went into padding the majorities of winning MPs.

In giving voice to the public demand for change, Sort The System seeks to apply pressure on all parties to commit to introducing Proportional Representation.

Klina Jordan, CEO of Make Votes Matter, commented:

Despite all that suffrage campaigners achieved a century ago, votes in this country still don’t count equally: First Past the Post means the votes of millions of people effectively go to waste, with elections decided in a cluster of marginal seats that are unrepresentative of the country at large. Polling shows the public is eager for change – it’s time their voices were listened to.

Politicians including baroness Natalie Bennett and Clive Lewis MP will be among those speaking at the event.

Sort The System encourages attendees to ask their local MP to meet them at the event to discuss the matter. The group also wants to know how MPs respond to the request.

Political divide

The prospect of switching to proportional representation has recently incited a strong response from the political right:

What Andrew Neil fails to mention is that the ‘seismic electoral reform’ is proportional representation and therefore the only way ‘the left’ would be in power ‘forever’ would be if the actual majority of folk kept voting for left leaning parties. You know, like in a democracy… pic.twitter.com/VDvjJDyY4N

— Natasha Devon 🌈💙 (@_NatashaDevon) May 13, 2023

Keir Starmer, however, has a “long-standing view against proportional representation”, his official spokesperson claimed in April. The comment came with no explanation as to why Starmer opposes the system. Others within Labour have shown more support:

.@AndyBurnhamGM says the first past the post voting system "hands more power to the establishment than MPs or people" and changing the system to proportional representation would mean "every vote would matter".#Ridge https://t.co/ZoMhCmTrtv

📺 Sky 501 / YouTube pic.twitter.com/WDh4OU1cut

— Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (@SkyPoliticsHub) May 14, 2023

You can find out more about Sort The System’s lobby on 24 May here.

Featured image via Sort The System