Our politics is broken - Labour must fix it
Over recent weeks a number of Labour members from around the UK have fed back to us the debates they have been having in their Constituency Labour Parties. It’s clear that anger at the failure to address the cost of living and climate crises is rising. People are worried about the impact this will have on them, their families, the communities they live and work in.
We know that a root cause of this is the catastrophic failure of our political system. A new electoral system won’t pay anybody’s energy bills or put food on the table - but it is key to fixing our broken system, preventing such fundamental failings in the future, and re-balancing our obscenely unequal society.
We have updated the preamble of the #Labour4PR conference motion to reflect these discussions. The all-important ‘resolves’ section is unchanged, but the new preamble gives further weight to the political questions we know are at the forefront of everyone’s minds - and how truly solving them depends on renewing our democracy.
If you’ve already passed the original 2022 conference motion at your CLP or branch, great! Stick with that version. Please don’t withdraw a motion that is passed or due to be debated shortly for the sake of the new preamble!
But if you haven’t yet debated the motion, then you now have the option of submitting the version below with the revised preamble if you prefer. You may find it is more in keeping with the mood of your CLP at this time.
The updated text is below…
Labour for a New Democracy
Proportional Representation
After the hottest summer on record, millions now face a cold, desperate winter. A Tory government incapable of tackling climate change is also failing to support working people as inflation soars, public services crumble and the fuel poverty crisis deepens.
These are political decisions, based on putting the profit of a few before the welfare of the many. As prices skyrocket, Tory politicians tell working people they must accept getting poorer whilst promising tax cuts for the rich.
No one voted for housing, food, heating or transport to be beyond the means of ordinary people. No one voted for our health, education and justice systems to be underfunded past breaking point.
These things are happening because our political system has catastrophically failed to represent people’s wishes, needs and votes.
Our democracy is broken. Labour must commit to fixing it, beginning with the rotten electoral system which consistently hands power to a Conservative minority. First Past The Post gives a veto over a better future to a small number of swing voters in a handful of marginal seats. To build a better society, everyone must have an equal voice.
Conference resolves that:
Labour must make a commitment to introduce Proportional Representation for general elections in the next manifesto.
During its first term in office the next Labour government must change the voting system for general elections to a form of PR.
Labour should convene an open and inclusive process to decide the specific proportional voting system it will introduce.
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