31 July 2015
It was largely ignored by the media, but last Saturday there was a demonstration outside of Parliament in support of voting reform. Described by its organisers as a "Great Gathering," it took place because our current voting system does not give us a parliament that is representative of the British people.
Indeed, at the last election 25% of registered voters, who made up 37% of those voting, enabled a single party to win just over 50% of the seats in parliament; and so secure for itself 100% of the power. Put another way, 3 in every 4 of us on the electoral register didn’t vote Tory, but as a result of this flawed democracy, they will be governing us for the next five years.
Under a system of proportional representation, the Green Party would have won around 25 seats compared to the single seat it actually won at the 2015 General Election.
Green Party Councillor Sian Berry, who spoke at the Great Gathering, said, “The age of the two-party system is over. Fresh new parties like the Greens have broken through and are re-energising politics on the ground, reflected in our increased vote but not in more representation.
“Our broken electoral system must now catch up with the people. I’m pleased to be joining together with campaigners today to call for a new voting system and a much greater variety of voices in Parliament.
“If this government is serious about modernising our politics, they must look seriously at constitutional changes which allow people’s opinions to be better represented in Parliament.”
Of course, proportional representation is nothing new. It is used for the Welsh and Scottish parliaments, for the London Assembly; and for elections to the European parliament. But the current Westminster system of first-past-the-post looks very dated.
Darren Woodiwiss, spokesperson for Harborough Green Party said, "Years ago when we had just two main parties, our winner takes all system worked. But in today's multi-party system it’s hardly democratic when a single party gains absolute power, yet is backed by only a minority of the electorate."
Another problem with first-past-the-post is tactical voting, where people opt for candidates they don't really support, just to try and stop someone else from winning. This wouldn't happen with a proportional system as every vote would count. In Harborough, the Green Party’s Darren Woodiwiss would have achieved a much higher vote at the general election if people hadn't voted tactically for Labour, in an effort to unseat the Conservative's Edward Garnier.
Of course, voting reform for Westminster is still some way off. Whilst winning the argument with voters is one thing, persuading entrenched Labour and Conservative politicians is quite another. But Saturday's Great Gathering was a further step forwards. With more and more people backing the Green party and others who support voting reform, we can win the day.
This post was written by : David Green
Sign up for updates
Find out more
