Call for proportional representation voting at South Kesteven District Council
England’s ‘archaic’ voting system which leads to ‘minority rule’ needs to be overhauled, a councillor has said.
Amanda Wheeler (Lib Dem - Stamford St George’s) has called for the country’s 'first past the post' rules to be replaced with proportional representation (PR), which she describes as fairer.
Her motion will ask South Kesteven District Council to write to the government about changing the electoral laws.
'First past the post' gives each seat to the vote winner, while PR splits seats according to the percentage each party received.
Coun Wheeler says proportional representation ensures 'all votes count'.
“Currently in Europe, only the UK and authoritarian Belarus still use the archaic single-round 'first past the post' for general elections,” her proposal says.
“Meanwhile, proportional representation is used to elect parliaments in more than 80 countries. These countries tend to be more equal, freer and greener.
“Under proportional representation, MPs and Parliaments better reflect the age, gender and protected characteristics of local communities and the nation.
“MPs better reflecting their communities leads to improved decision-making, wider participation and increased levels of ownership of decisions taken.”
She describes the current system as minority rule, saying: “In the 2019 election, 43.6 per cent per cent of the vote produced a government with 56.2 per cent of the seats and 100 per cent of the power.”
“Proportional representation is already used to elect the parliaments and assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. So why not Westminster?”
Studies suggest that if proportional representation had been used in the 2019 General Election, the Conservatives and SNP would have won fewer seats while Labour, Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party and Greens would have benefited.
The motion will be discussed at South Kesteven District Council's full council meeting on Thursday.