Totnes Make Votes Matter (MVM) group are participating in the national MVM’s action day on Saturday 1st February between 10.00 and 13.00. We shall be outside the Mansion in Fore Street, Totnes with a huge Valentine’s card saying how much we would all love proportional representation (PR) for Westminster elections.
We hope to fill the card with signatures and send it in time for the 14th, to Lucy Powell MP, the Leader of the House, asking her to join our heartfelt longings.
Our MP, Caroline Voaden, is hoping to join us at sometime to show her support…along with a group photo.
Please come and join us if you can …even if it’s only with just enough time to say “hi” and sign the card.
Laurie Taylor
Totnes MVM
Make Votes Matter’s objective:
Our broken voting system cheats most voters and Parliament doesn’t reflect the way we voted.
The UK is in crisis – to address this we urgently need to make seats match votes, with a good voting system supported by the public. Most people and parties agree.
If you took part in the South Devon Primary, you will know that first past the post means having to find a plaster to fix our broken system. The Primary was successful in ending 100 years of Conservative MPs in the constituency and demonstrating the importance of motivating people to vote, but we and, no doubt, the Primary’s co-founders would much prefer to see a system in place which allowed people to vote with their hearts, minds and values and to see that vote reflected in the make up of parliament, rather than having to find a tactical voting workaround! We are the only country in Europe bar Belarus (which is, sadly, hardly a model to emulate!) to stick with this out-dated system. We imposed it on past colonies and just look where that’s got them in the US, for example. Canada is also regretting clinging on to first past the post.
Electoral reform is essential in time for the general election in 2029. Votes cast should bear a relation to seats won! Editor-in-Chief
