First Past the Post becoming my “friend”, says Farage

Written By Joe Sousek

Nigel Farage claims he has reached the point at which First Past the Post has become his “friend”.

Speaking in an interview with Sky News Australia, he said Reform UK had reached an “inflection point” at which the voting system has begun to disproportionately advantage his party.

Labour for a New Democracy has long warned that First Past the Post is a gift to Farage, allowing him to stir up grievance amongst people who justifiably feel ignored by politics.

And alongside the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections we have raised the alarm that majority governments are being elected on a lower and lower share of the vote in Britain.

The APPG’s Chair, Labour’s Alex Sobel MP, warned last year that, if trends continue, we could see a party - even an extreme party - win a parliamentary majority on as little as three in ten votes.

Parties have needed a smaller and smaller share of the vote to win a majority of seats

Source: Free But Not Fair, APPG for Fair Elections

With Reform UK ahead in most polls this month, yet no party reaching 30% in any poll since 2024, it is increasingly clear that First Past the Post could indeed deliver such a result.

Labour must fight back on every front to beat the far right and Farage: above all by delivering the national renewal it promised and improving the lives and material conditions of ordinary people.

But it would be utterly reckless for this Labour government to prop up a First Past the Post voting system that it knows is flawed and driving distrust in politics - and that could hand a landslide majority to Nigel Farage on less than 30% of the popular vote.

Labour should listen to growing calls from its own MPs, from across Parliament, and from the public - and establish a National Commission for Electoral Reform to recommend a fair and democratic voting system in which every vote counts.

Joe Sousek

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