A busy couple of weeks
Things have moved quickly over the last two weeks. The year isn't over yet, but we wanted to give you a quick recap of the key developments. Read below, or watch last week's campaign update, to catch up:
✅ APPG for Fair Elections launched
Two weeks ago today, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections - backed by over 50 Labour MPs - held its launch event. Video of the full speeches, including by APPG Chair Alex Sobel and former First Minister Mark Drakeford, are available here.
"It will require a degree of political courage. It will require a dose of democratic humility. Because the current system doesn't work & has to be recognised as such"
— Fair Elections (@FairElectionsUK) December 9, 2024
🌹 @MarkDrakeford made the case for PR, starting with a National Commission for Electoral Reform, at our launch pic.twitter.com/nXyZlnoTtz
✅ National Commission called for
The APPG for Fair Elections used the event to launch a report and recommendation for the government: to establish a National Commission for Electoral Reform next year to select a fair and democratic replacement to First Past the Post.
💥 Fantastic to see the APPG for @FairElectionsUK calling for a 'National Commission for Electoral Reform'
— LCER (@Labour4PR) November 25, 2024
🌹 We're proud to say that a majority of the group's more than 100 members are Labour MPs
💪 The Labour movement is firmly in favour of fair votes
🧵 1/5 https://t.co/2ioPq4QhAq
✅ House of Commons vote won
Last week, the House of Commons voted to introduce PR for the first time in British history - thanks to the most pro-PR Parliamentary Labour Party there has ever been. A symbolic '10 Minute Rule' motion put forward by Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney was passed with the backing of 59 Labour MPs.
✅ Campaign update given
We at Labour for a New Democracy held our December campaign update call where we gave an overview of these recent developments, how they fit with the campaign strategy, and what comes next. It was great to see over 100 of you there! A recording is available here.
✅✅✅ And that's not all...
Fresh polling has found there's twice as much public support for PR as there is for FPTP, and that two-thirds of us want the flaws in our voting system addressed before the next general election.
And finally, there's been a ton of press coverage arising from all of the above, including articles by APPG Chair Alex Sobel MP and our own National Coordinator, exclusive coverage in the Guardian, and write-ups everywhere from the New Statesman and the Independent, to the Telegraph and the Mail.
📊 2/3rds of the public want “the flaws in the voting system” addressed before the next general election
— LCER (@Labour4PR) December 4, 2024
🎯 The government should follow the recommendation of the APPG for @FairElectionsUK & launch a National Commission for Electoral Reform
🌹 #Labour4PR https://t.co/weiDRvc8Rr
Less than six months into the new parliament, we've already seen these major developments - all built on the foundations that Labour and union members laid down during the last Parliament.
Working with partner organisations, we'll be making sure the pressure continues to build in the new year. With the most pro-PR Parliamentary Labour Party ever, the campaign continues to break new ground and make progress towards PR.
