MPs highlighted that Labour policy acknowledges flaws in the current voting system that are “contributing to distrust and alienation in politics”
MPs have challenged the government on their plans to restore trust in politics to address the “flaws” in the First Past the Post system.
During the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee yesterday, MPs highlighted that Labour’s policy on First Past the Post (FPTP) admits that there are flaws in the current voting system “contributing to the distrust and alienation we see in politics”.
Labour MP Richard Quigley asked the democracy minister, Rushanara Ali MP, what assessment Labour has made of the impact of FPTP on trust in politics.
Ali said that while the government acknowledges that FPTP is “not a perfect system, it is the system we wish to continue with”.
She added that reforming the voting system is not a priority for this government.
Ali said that the government is instead focused on addressing some of the underlying barriers that affect people’s engagement in politics and the voting system.
She said: “It’s about tackling powerlessness, doing the substantive work to raise living standards, to improve people’s conditions so they see the benefits of good government.”
Lib Dem MP Luke Taylor pressed Ali again on Labour’s own admission that the current voting system is “contributing to distrust and alienation”.
He asked: “Yet you’re saying addressing that is not a priority for the government. Is that right?”
Ali said the government has inherited a huge set of challenges in terms of the economic challenges, cost of living crisis, post-pandemic aftereffects in terms of health. She said “we’re focused on tackling the challenges affecting people’s lives”.
The minister also said that Lib Dems could have implemented an alternative voting system while they were in power, but that the AV referendum in 2011 was not successful.
On the draconian voter ID rules introduced by the Tories, which campaigners hoped Labour would ditch, Ali said that scrapping voter ID is “not on the table”.
Ali told MPs: “What we are focused on is improving the system and making sure that we look at what else we can do in relation to voter ID, and getting those legitimate voters who are excluded included.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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