t comes after MPs from across the political divide came together last month to issue a cross-party call for Britain’s First Past the Post voting system to be scrapped.
Supporters of proportional representation received a boost yesterday after MPs narrowly voted in favour of reforming the voter system, in what was a symbolic vote, unlikely to become law.
The vote, on a Liberal Democrat 10-minute rule bill, calling for a PR system for UK parliamentary elections and for local elections in England was passed by 137 votes to 135. It is believed to be the first time the Westminster parliament has backed such a plan.
The Bill is unlikely to progress in its current form due to a lack of parliamentary time to consider it at second reading, with Downing Street also making clear that it has “no plans” to reform the voting system.
It comes after MPs from across the political divide came together last month to issue a 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.
Campaign group Labour for a New Democracy, which has been working closely with the APPG, says it is 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.
As well as 62 Lib Dem MPs, 59 Labour backbenchers voted for yesterday’s bill, including a number of those first elected in 2024.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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