The Commons: How can british Democracy be fixed?
LPETTET
The 2024 UK general election resulted in a landslide victory for the Labour party, who won 411 out of the 650 constituencies, and a crushing defeat for the incumbent Conservatives who fell to a post-WW2 low of 121 MPs. However, Labour only achieved 33.7% of the total votes cast on a 60% turnout. Due to the first past the post electoral system used to elect the British Parliament, the votes won by each party often do not correspond with the number of MPs that party gets. The biggest example of this was the Reform UK party who won 14.3% of the vote (4.1 million people) but are only represented by 5 seats in parliament. Many Brits understandably feel betrayed by what they see as an outdated and undemocratic system for electing the national legislature, with growing support for reforming how MPs are chosen
Why does first past the post give such unrepresentative results? The House of Commons is made up of 650 MPs, each representing their own constituency. During a general election, each person votes for their own constituency MP, not for a party or for the prime minister. To win the constituency someone just needs to achieve more votes than any other candidate and does not necessarily need over 50%. This means if you did not vote for the winning candidate, your vote has no tangible impact on the result and is deemed ‘wasted’. The election for the MP of South West Norfolk was the least representative, with the winning Labour candidate securing only 26.7% of the vote. This means nearly three quarters of all the votes cast in this election were wasted. Nationally, millions of people’s votes were wasted in this way, and as a result many feel unrepresented in Parliament.
The new Government has plans to reform British democracy and get people more involved in decision making. One of the key proposed changes is to remove unelected hereditary peers from the House of Lords, who currently have the automatic right to influence British laws solely based on their birth. Additionally, further devolution is set to impact local areas, with a focus on metro mayors, as part of their ‘devolution revolution’. Finally, it looks like 16 and 17 year old’s will soon gain the right to vote, in an effort to increase democratic participation across the country, although it has been suggested that this will likely not be implemented until at least 2026.
Despite these proposed changes, one transformation notably absent from Labour’s agenda is a move towards a proportional voting system. Advocates for electoral reform argue that proportional representation could address many of the issues inherent in first past the post, such as wasted votes, disproportionate outcomes, and the underrepresentation of smaller parties. However, transitioning to a PR system would be a monumental shift in British politics, requiring significant public support and, likely, a referendum. Labour’s landslide victory in 2024 may have ironically reduced the likelihood of such a referendum. Historically, parties benefiting from FPTP have shown little incentive to overhaul the system. Labour itself has historically flip-flopped on the issue, with leaders pledging reform in opposition but hesitating in power. While some within the party, including prominent figures on the left, continue to advocate for PR, the leadership has remained silent post-election, perhaps wary of alienating core supporters or losing the newfound advantage provided by the current system.
Public opinion on electoral reform is shifting, with recent polling suggesting that over 50% of Britons support moving to a more proportional system. Younger voters, in particular, are vocal in their demand for change, citing the success of PR systems in countries like Germany and New Zealand. The unfairness of the 2024 results, where a party winning over 14% of the vote secured less than 1% of the seats, has only strengthened calls for a fairer system. However, public support alone may not be enough. Any push for a referendum would face significant political and logistical hurdles. It would require the government to prioritize electoral reform in an already crowded legislative agenda. Additionally, critics of PR argue that it could lead to fragmented parliaments and unstable coalitions, a concern Labour might amplify as a deterrent to electoral reform.
Minor parties are expected to play a crucial role in keeping electoral reform on the political agenda. The Liberal Democrats, Greens, and Reform UK have all pledged to fight for PR, recognizing that their survival and growth depend on a fairer system. After the 2024 election, these parties have called for a cross-party alliance to campaign for a referendum. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice described the current system as "a democratic disgrace," while the Green Party’s former MP Caroline Lucas emphasized the environmental and social policies left unrepresented due to the distortions of FPTP.
With growing disillusionment among voters, particularly the young and those backing smaller parties, the question is not just whether the UK should reform its electoral system but whether it can afford not to. If Labour chooses to ignore the calls for change, they may find themselves vulnerable to the same criticisms that now plague the Conservatives: that their electoral success comes at the expense of a truly representative democracy.
