Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart says Labour may realise PR is “in their best interests to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM”.
The Lib Dems for Electoral Reform said that “political volatility” caused by Reform will force Labour to more seriously at changing the voting system for general elections.
At a fringe meeting entitled ‘What’s next in the fight for fair votes?’ panellists said support for electoral reform is rising, as political stability in the country weakens.
Joe Sousek, from Fair Vote and Labour for a New Democracy, said: “As political volatility continues to just go up and up that creates a sort of outside incentive for them to look more seriously at it”.
He added that the government will follow through with electoral reform “at the point at which it is a bigger headache not to do it than it is to go ahead and do it”.
Sousek also noted that support for scrapping First Past the Post (FPTP) is growing among Labour MPs, who “are feeling increasingly emboldened and that there is leeway for them to take a stand on issues like electoral reform”.
The Lib Dem chair of the group, Lisa Smart MP, said that she is “optimistic” about the tide has moved towards electoral reform in recent years.
Smart noted that “there is more work to do on the leadership of Labour”, but added that politicians “make decisions or suddenly become in favour of things when they realise it’s in their personal interests”.
Smart said she thinks there is a “non-zero possibility that Labour will have an absolute disaster at the local elections next year and they will then come to their own conclusions that actually it is in their best interests to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM”.
The APPG for Fair Elections is now the largest all-party parliamentary group, with 83 Labour MPs and peers, 54 Lib Dems, and seven Green MPs and Lords among its members.
An audience member asked which potential future Labour leader would help the case for electoral reform most, with some suggesting Andy Burnham could be their best hope.
The APPG plans to put forward an amendment to Labour’s Elections Bill when it is introduced to Parliament, which will call for a national commission on electoral reform.
The aim of the independent review will be to build a consensus on a new voting system for Westminster through broad consultation with voters and experts.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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