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A little light reading
Since the general election on 4 July, media channels have been buzzing with calls for PR. In case you missed them, here are a few of the best. Professor Sir John Curtice, inews, 7 July 2024 >> First past the post is failing our democracy We should not be surprised that some are now arguing…
Read MoreLabour admits first past the post is flawed, and GE24 proves it. We need PR
Labour has gone directly from opposition to governing with a strong majority for only the second time in our party’s history. It’s an outstanding achievement – one that almost ten million people voted for – and we now have the opportunity, and obligation, to deliver the change the country so desperately needs. At the same…
Read MorePublic support for PR is at an all-time high
A new report from the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) shows that public support for PR among adults in the UK is at an all-time high. The report, based on data from the British Social Attitudes Survey 2023, covers opinions on a range of issues, including social and political trust, populism and the impact…
Read MoreThe Trade Union Campaign for PR
In this Compass podcast, Lynne Henderson (Chair of the Electoral Reform Society and Chair of Politics for the Many) and Nancy Platts (Campaign Collective and Politics for the Many) discuss what PR means for the trade union movement. It was a watershed moment in October 2022 when the Labour Party conference overwhelmingly voted to include…
Read MoreLabour, the Unions and Proportional Representation
A new article in the Political Quarterly discusses the role of Labour and the Trade Unions in reforming our political system. The article, by Cameron Rhys Herbert, a doctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, assesses changing attitudes, the role of grassroots campaigns, and the prospects for the future. “The Labour Party would be a…
Read MoreLCER talks to Scottish councillors about STV
Since 2007, Scotland has used the Single Transferable Vote to elect local councillors. Research suggests that voters have adapted to STV easily, understand the system, and make use of the increased choice it delivers. But how do councillors who stand for election and serve under STV feel about the system? Film-maker and longstanding LCER member…
Read More400 CLPs and counting
On Friday 15 September, Milngavie and Clydebank CLP became the 400th Constituency Labour Party to pass a motion calling for Proportional Representation for the House of Commons. Our formidable campaigner Julie Ward – well known to many members during her days as an MEP for the North West – travelled up from Carlisle for the…
Read MoreNot a priority? We beg to differ
Looking back over the past few years, the campaign for PR has made huge strides. Last year’s Labour Party conference voted overwhelmingly to back electoral reform Repeated polls put support for PR among Labour members at around 85% 96% of local Labour parties that have debated PR voted to support it A majority of affiliated trade…
Read MoreThe Labour movement supports electoral reform – and expects party policy to reflect that
This weekend, Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF) will deliberate and agree upon Labour’s draft ‘party programme’. Not to be confused with the manifesto – which will be a concise summary of the central missions of the next Labour government and will not be agreed until the election is called – the party programme is a…
Read More400,000 could be put off voting by compulsory photo-ID
It seemed like a fairly small number when the Electoral Commission announced that 0.25% of people who tried to vote at the local elections in May were not issued with a ballot paper because of the new voter ID requirement. But drill down into the detail and the figures start to sound more alarming. In…
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