Category: Electoral Reform

This month, dogs were all the rage at your local polling station. Are teenagers next? The new prime minister promises to lower the voting age to 16; however, 51 per cent of Britons oppose such a move, with just 24 per cent in support – that’s all Britons whose opinion is relevant (those over 18 […]

The 2024 general election, in which the Labour party secured a 174 seat majority with just 34 per cent of the popular vote, has boosted interest in different electoral systems. Famously, our British First Past The Post (FPTP) system is shunned by almost all of our European neighbours (with Belarus as the one exception). But […]

Dear Sadik First of all, congratulations on a historic election result. You and your team have invested huge effort in capturing one of the more firmly entrenched Conservative seats and enabled Sir Liam Fox to spend more time with his family. Winning an election is, of course, just the beginning of the story. Sir Keir […]

How the far-right may lose the battle, but still hope to win the war As many centre-right politicians and commentators have warned us, what used to be the Conservative Party has become a vehicle for the far-right. Philip Hammond wrote:  “the Conservative party has been taken over by unelected advisers, entryists and usurpers who are trying to turn […]

People’s primary organisers side-step party HQs’ attempt to block their new grassroots movement to unite the progressive vote. South Devon Primary is a community initiative to unite the progressive vote around a single opposition candidate at the general election, healing the division which time after time hands victory to the Conservatives. The primary took place […]

No-one outside of a diminishing band of party bureaucrats believes our political and democratic system is working. Of course, the charade continues; of PMQ’s, of who’s up and who’s down, of polls and predictions. But this, in the phrase of Colin Crouch, is a post-democracy, a democracy in name only in which the game is played […]

Dear Editor, As I watch the Channel 4 documentary ‘The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson’, I despair at how such a totally unsuited and unsuitable person was given free rein to wreak such havoc on our country. I remember how, many years ago, a couple of friends said it would be good if Johnson […]

Many of our readers will, by now, be familiar with the concept of the political primary: a process designed to resolve the tragedy of seats with an overall progressive majority yet predicted to return a Conservative MP (on a minority vote) because the progressive vote is split. The idea being pioneered in South Devon (formerly […]

Imagine being angry about small boats, wanting to see refugees shipped to Rwanda, and not knowing what Labour’s policy was. Mightn’t you read this tweet as a message that Labour, in power, would promise to send more people to Rwanda? Like much Labour material, it’s clever drafting – designed to send different messages to people […]

Did you know that nearly 200 parliamentary seats have not changed party hands since WWII? Conservative East Devon hasn’t changed hands since 1835! West Dorset has been Tory since 1857. That’s 200 seats where the incumbent MPs (or their successors) have felt pretty relaxed about retaining their jobs. No need to panic, come election time! […]

In the UK today, it’s largely accepted that we should cherish and celebrate a culture of inclusion. We like to promote acceptance and diversity in all things – from religion and ethnicity, to age and sexual orientation. We even value diversity in the languages we speak to one another. Why is it then, when it […]

We are delighted to publish this piece from the co-founder and CEO of Make Votes Matter. Klina is from Totnes. Creativity and big ideas inspire us, enliven us. Conversations about process, on the other hand, tend to make some people switch off. So you might doubt the mobilising power of electoral reform as an issue. […]

Flippant image, serious message. ‘When a person shows you who they are, believe them the first time.’ (Maya Angelou) On the one hand, it’s quite a relief to have some of the far right shed the final scraps of respectability and reveal their true, ugly selves. But, on the other, the abandon – even relish […]

Dear Keir Starmer I hear that you are now not going to support the introduction of real, meaningful electoral reform in the form of proportional representation. Have you forgotten 2019? The Tories completely played a broken, undemocratic and unrepresentative first past the post system and pretended it was a “second referendum” on Brexit. This has […]

Many senior former Conservatives have warned us about the current state of their party. Philip Hammond wrote:  “the Conservative party has been taken over by unelected advisers, entryists and usurpers who are trying to turn it from a broad church into an extreme right-wing faction. Sadly, it is not the party I joined.”  Anna Soubry said  […]

It was not a good weekend for English politics. There was a neo-fascist, racist inspired riot near Liverpool. The Mail blamed the headteacher who was murdered recently, along with her daughter, for her own death because she had overshadowed her husband’s achievements. Meanwhile, Lee Anderson, the former Labour councillor who had been Tory MP for […]

There must have been a time when the Conservative party stood for conserving things, for responsible stewardship and avoiding needless waste. I know for sure that’s what Conservative friends of mine believe in. Business-like decision-making, investing in our future. But like many Tory voters, my friends now feel abandoned by a party stripped bare of […]

Our first past the post system may have the advantage of familiarity and simplicity, but it is serving us very ill. The current government enjoys a massive majority in the Commons, allowing it to ram through legislation that damages our democracy, our human rights, the environment and so much more… and all despite securing only […]

It can only be a matter of time before you get to hold the reins of power. The only possible way this cannot happen is if the current increasingly fascist regime finds a way to halt elections altogether – maybe by engineering a state of emergency, having pushed millions of decent people out of their […]

A lot has been said recently about the fairness (or otherwise) of an electoral system that permits our next prime minister to be elected by the tiny minority of voters who happen to be members of a particular political party. Some have claimed that it would be more democratic if the final choice were left […]

Johnson’s ‘deep state’ conspiracy theory has, quite rightly, attracted a lot of negative comment. This article identifies some of the collisions his government has had with people and institutions who stand in its way. This government has consistently acted against people and institutions which seek to subject government action to scrutiny and accountability. Here are […]

If the Conservative Party truly believed in the democratic robustness and fairness of the first past the post system, it would surely use it for its own leadership elections. Rishi Sunak would have won in the first round and it would all be done and dusted. We plebs must be happy with a system which […]

Dozens of residents and visitors attending the Bideford Soapbox Derby took time out to share their views with Compass Northern Devon on the state of politics in this country.  As in other Northern Devon towns, the results show that many people have lost faith in both politics and political parties. Many wish to be rid […]

Democracy is under threat like never before and our reliance on the antiquated first past the post system, which in Europe is shared only by Belarus, that bastion of democracy, is a key factor in the mass disenfranchisement of voters, the sense of powerlessness and disengagement with politics. This is the most fertile ground for […]

If you have read our ‘About Us’ page, you will know that we are not affiliated to, supporters of, or the organ of, any political party. “Our political values are progressive and internationalist. We are party-blind but policy-focused and pro electoral reform. We believe in a kinder world that puts people before profit, that values […]

I’ve asked myself the same question endlessly; as we all no doubt do. Of course the voting system is a particular root cause. But, for me, the ultra-significant factor is the quality of political education and understanding of the electorate. This frustrates and depresses me in about equal measure. We disgorge our 17 and 18 […]

Don’t miss this! As you will know, West Country Voices is a strong and vocal supporter of electoral reform – it’s essential for empowerment of citizens and engagement with the politics that affect our lives, no matter how much we may want to stay out of it or are bored or turned off by it. […]

Well, well! The ConservativeHome website makes for a fascinating visit. It seems applications are now open for a candidate to replace disgraced former MP for Tiverton and Honiton, Neil Parish, in the upcoming by-election. Anyone interested in standing needs to apply by 18 May. William Atkinson, the site’s assistant editor, writes: “Though traditionally safe, the […]

East Devon independent parliamentary candidate Claire Wright stood for election in 2015, 2017 and 2019, coming second each time. Now the resignation of Tory MP Neil Parish has brought her into the spotlight as a possible candidate for the Tiverton and Honiton by-election. Claire wrote to WestCountry Voices about her reaction to the resignation, and […]