Pledges: Proportional Representation

#9 in my Pledges series

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

A quick one today, as I have been dealing with about a hundred emails from potential constituents.

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The Email:

Dear Karl Drinkwater,

As a voter in your constituency, I’m writing to tell you that Proportional Representation (PR) is one of my priority issues at this election.

If you agree: I'm asking you to make a pledge for PR to demonstrate your support. You can do that really easily by sharing the #PledgeForPR hashtag on your social media. You can also find graphics and more resources at: https://tinyurl.com/ye2ak88n

If you still need convincing: I’m asking you to work with me to make this the last UK general election held under the damaging First Past the Post voting system.

As you know, trust in politics in the UK is at rock bottom. The sense under First Past the Post that voting makes no difference, that ‘my vote doesn’t matter’, is a big part of this disconnect between Westminster and the public. Strengthening the link between politics and the people it serves by giving everyone an equal vote and voice would give our political system a renewed sense of legitimacy.

Across the world, democracy is on the back foot. Here at home our political system is rocking. The legacy of First Past the Post, not just in recent years but over several decades, is of increasing political instability. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to repair our democracy and make it fit for the challenges we face.

PR systems are in use right here in the UK already. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the London Assembly all use PR systems to elect politicians.

Meanwhile, polling shows that the public back a change to Proportional Representation, and MPs from across the political spectrum have shared their support for PR.

Every voter in the UK deserves to have a vote that counts, wherever we live and whomever we vote for.

Do you agree that we urgently need to repair our democracy to ensure that all votes are equal and all voices are heard?

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My Thoughts

This is indeed an important issue to me, as the current system is completely broken. As I said in my recent newsletter:

"The current First Past The Post System is completely broken and unrepresentative. For example, in the 2019 general election, the Green party received 865,000 votes nationally but won just a single seat. In the same election, Conservatives only got an average of 38,000 votes for each MP elected. At that rate, Greens would have had 20 MPs elected. Likewise when I wrote about Restricting Democracy, I calculated that in the 2019 election Conservatives were given 56% of the seats in Parliament (and therefore control of the government) – yet they had only received 27.6% of the votes from registered voters."

And in an earlier one:

"The Conservatives now have a majority in parliament, with 56% of the seats. However, only 43% of the people who turned up on election day actually voted for the Conservatives (13,966,565 votes). The UK's election system isn't proportional, which is why the Conservatives got more power than those votes would have meant proportionally. Further, only 67% of the eligible voters actually voted - 31,829,630 people out of 47,587,254 registered voters. So the Conservatives have control of the Government even though they only got 13,966,565 votes out of the 47,587,254 registered voters - which is 27.6%. So, at best, under a third of the registered voters in a country actually voted for the ruling party. In addition, there could have been another 9 million people who should have been allowed to vote, but who weren't registered. Then there are the people who live in this country and are subject to the Government's dictates but aren't allowed to vote (e.g. under 16s). The number of people living in the UK in December 2019 is thought to be 67,698,000. The Conservatives received votes from 13,966,565 of them - that's 19.4%. Both of those mean an even lower popular mandate than 27.6%. So the idea that a Government represents the people or popular will of a country is facetious and misleading. There is a connection, but they are also separate."

Our Green Party manifesto fully supports proportional representation (which both Conservatives and Labour oppose, because the current broken system benefits them). See this section where we pledge:

• Replacing the first past the post system for parliamentary elections with a fair and proportional voting system.

• Replacing the House of Lords with an elected second chamber.

So yes, this is one of the vital political reforms that need making if UK Parliament is to have any legitimacy as a representation of the will of the people.

How you can help.

Promoted by Harriet King on behalf of the Green Party both at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff CF24 3JW.