Davey wants to 'work with government' on electoral reform
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has confirmed that his party will work with the government
to move away from the current electoral system. Liberal Democrats have long advocated for electoral reform and support for the introduction of a system of proportional representation, which they believe would more accurately reflect people's views. During his campaign to become Labour leader in 2020, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer supported electoral reform, but he has since dropped the pledge and did not include it in the party's election manifesto last year. Sir Ed Ed Miliband told the BBC that he hoped the possibility of a majority in the UK would compel the Prime Minister to consider again
abandoning the current first-past-the-post
Sir Ed Miliband said he wanted to avoid first-past-the-post elections for the Parliament at Westminster, speaking with Nick Robinson on the BBC's Political Thinking podcast. The candidate who gains the most seats in a constituency becomes an MP, and the party with the largest number of MPs joins a government. The number of MPs a party will gain broadly reflects the number of seats they gained across the country under proportional representation. Sir Ed, the party's chairman who gained 72 MPs under the new system last year, was unable to specify which type of proportional representation he favors, but he did emphasize that his party remained committed to electoral reform. Sir Ed Robinson said,
They've got this loveless landslide, they don't need a large majority of the vote, so maybe they have a vested interest.Indeed, I go so far as to say that I'm able to serve with the government if they wake up.
We've got to address the fact that millions of people vote in safe seats and they feel their vote doesn't matter,Sir Keir told Labour Party members that he would consult them on electoral reform and reform the structure through the constitutional convention outlined in the party's 2019 manifesto, written under Jeremy Corbyn.
he said at the time.That has got to be addressed by electoral reform. We will never fully participate in our electoral system until we do so at every level.
no plansHowever, no pledge was included in Labour's 2024 manifesto, and the government did not endorse a Ten Minute Rule Bill that aimed at introducing proportional representation in December last year. Although Sarah Olney's bill passed through its first parliamentary session with a majority of two, with more Labour MPs supporting it than opposed it, it has not been given parliamentary time to pass by the government, with Downing Street advising reporters that there are
to reform the voting system.Winning 63% of the seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote,
Olney said last year.Thanks to first past the post nearly 60% of those who registered in the general election in July are not represented in Parliament by the candidate who voted for.
I would hope that would make them reconsider the wisdom of the first-past-the-post,This is the most disproportionate election result that this country has ever seen. According to several polls, Urging Sir Keir to revisit the prospect of reform, Sir Ed Milir warned that FPTP could now make it possible for reform UK leader Nigel Farage to become prime minister.
he said.There is a chance and on a very small amount of the vote, and I would like that that will worry people.
significant numbers of people have no representation in parliamentNgel Farage, a long-serving promoter of proportional representation, with his party promising to implement it in their 2024 manifesto, which claims that
under the new system.I think if PR was ever introduced in this region, we will end up in a state of gridlock,
Faragetold said in b May.We will not be able to do the frankly optimistic, and in some cases revolutionary, stuff. On BBC Sounds, you can listen to the complete episode of Political Thought. On Friday at 1230 and on Radio 4 at 1730, it will be on BBC2 and on Saturday at 1740.
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