Councillors Support Fairer Voting

Warrington Borough Councillors have supported a motion calling for a fairer voting system for General Elections.

At a meeting of the full Council on 31st October, support came from all Liberal Democrats, all bar three Labour Councillors and all Independents, with just the Conservatives against.

A proportional voting system would bring the country into line with every country in Europe apart from Putin's ally Belarus. We already use Proportional Representation to elect Parliaments and Assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In 2019, 44% of the vote produced a government with 56% of the seats. It took 26,000 votes to elect an SNP MP but 800,000 to elect a Green one. A fairer system would better reflect the public's range of views. At present only marginal seats matter and there are a vast number of wasted votes. A fairer system would do away with the need to vote tactically and encourage politicians to work together for the good of the country.

Opponents of Proportional Representation say it would cause instability. Yet recent events in this country have hardly given the country stability. Instead, they have made our country a joke and significantly reduced our standing in the world and our ability to help tackle global problems. Leaving Europe was an unmitigated disaster and contributed to this instability creating a cost of leaving crisis alongside the cost-of-living crisis.

Public support for electoral reform is now at a record high and a recent long-running survey found that over half the people want a change. 60% of Labour supporters want a change with the figure rising to 83% for party members. In a historic vote, the recent Labour Party Conference in Liverpool voted for a manifesto commitment to Proportional Representation for general elections.

Sir John Curtice says the First-Past-the-Post system is now more biased towards the Tories than at any time since the 1950s. The current massive lead in the polls between the two big parties will not last. Electors now have an uncomfortable choice between two coalitions - one with far left and social democrats and one with pro-Europe / one nation Tories and far-right Brexit free-marketeers.

Newly elected Liberal Democrat Councillor Helen Speed, who seconded the motion, added: We are delighted with the support tonight. We now need Labour Councillors to put pressure on Sir Kier Starmer to include fairer voting in his manifesto for the next election.