MPs call for ‘National Commission for Electoral Reform’

Written By Joe Sousek

Labour MPs and senior figures have led a new cross-party call for Britain’s First Past the Post voting system to be scrapped.

The new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections is calling on the government to establish a ‘National Commission for Electoral Reform’ to allow citizens, alongside experts, to recommend a fair and democratic replacement for First Past the Post.

Labour for a New Democracy has been organising in Parliament since the general election in collaboration with the APPG’s Officers. We’re proud to be able to announce that a majority of the APPG’s over 100 members are Labour MPs, showing widespread support within the parliamentary party for major political reform.

The call to action is part of a report published today by the APPG - Free But Not Fair: British elections and how to restore trust in politics - which also proposes a clampdown on ‘dark money’ in politics, and shining a light on disinformation in democratic debate.

The report highlights the overwhelming consensus which now exists across Parliament that First Past the Post is flawed and is damaging trust in politics. As a result of the work of our campaign in the last Parliament, Labour formally adopted policy recognising this - and in total parties accounting for 500 MPs (77%) now hold this view. 

New polling by Survation has found that almost two thirds (64%) of the public believe the government should act to address the flaws in the voting system before the next general election.

As a first step, the APPG is calling for a National Commission that is independent and highly representative. It should allow citizens, alongside experts, to evaluate voting system options, drawing insights from the UK’s own devolved bodies and other democracies.

The APPG is proposing that this National Commission be established in 2025 in order to report to Parliament in good time for its recommendations to be progressed within the current parliamentary term.

Alex Sobel MP, Chair of the APPG, said: “The popular vote a party needs to win a majority has been steadily falling for decades - and now First Past the Post has delivered a landslide on just a third of the vote. Are we really comfortable with a situation where a party - even an extreme party - can win a thumping majority with, say, just three out of ten votes? Because if things continue, that’s where we’re heading.”

Speaking at the APPG’s launch event this evening, the former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, will say: “By treating voters so unfairly and producing such distorted results, Westminster’s electoral system is driving a wedge between politicians and the people they are supposed to represent. A National Commission on Electoral Reform would be an important first step towards allowing people to again have confidence in Britain’s political system.”

The APPG and its call has also been backed by senior figures from other parties including the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Conservatives, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, as well as Independent MPs.

Establishing a National Commission would be a significant first step towards electoral reform, which would demonstrate that the government is serious about addressing the distrust and alienation caused by First Past the Post.

Now, we all need to campaign to make it happen: inside Parliament, across the Labour movement, and amongst the wider public. We are delighted to be working closely with Fair Vote, the APPG’s secretariat, and a broad coalition of organisations, to build the major, comprehensive campaign that now needs to happen.

Joe Sousek

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