Motion for Proportional Representation at South Kesteven Council fails by narrow vote

A Lincolnshire council has rejected calls for electoral reform, despite concerns that the current system is outdated.

During a full council meeting, South Kesteven District Coun Vanessa Smith (Green Party) presented a motion, requesting that the council urge the Government to adopt Proportional Representation (PR) for UK General Elections (GE).

It also requested that any future mayor of Greater Lincolnshire be elected by a preferential vote, instead of using a First Past the Post (FPTP) system, as was used in the GE earlier this month.

Coun Smith argued that the Proportional Representation (PR) system, where seat allocation closely mirrors the proportion of total votes received by each party, is already used when electing Parliaments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

She suggested that Westminster should adopt the same system, as she firmly believes the current system is one of the reasons why many voters are disengaging with politics.

“Many voters have lost faith in our electoral system and things need to change,” stated Coun Smith. “We need to restore their faith in democracy and give them a voting system that truly represents their views.

“PR offers a solution to these issues by ensuring that every vote counts.”

The representative for Casewick ward later reflected on the recent GE, where the Labour Party won an overwhelming majority, calling it the “most disproportionate election in British history.”

She went on to highlight how Reform UK gained just five seats with 4.1 million votes but estimated that they would have won around 94 seats under a PR system.

Council leader Ashley Baxter (Independent) shared her views, insisting that FPTP systems work in a “two-horse race,” but this is no longer the case with the emergence of more fringe parties.

“I fundamentally disagree with the idea of FPTP because in this century it is unfair.” He added: “We’re not in the 1920s anymore.”

Coun Baxter later claimed that the Conservatives lost control of the government due to the surge in support for Reform UK.

“They were voting against the crumbling shambles of a 14-year-old government— that’s what FPTP generates,” he continued.

He also noted that 40% of people chose not to vote in the recent General Election, declaring, “They realised the system doesn’t work.”

Although Coun Lee Steptoe (Labour) insisted he was “a bit of a fence sitter” when it comes to electoral reform, he couldn’t support the motion, calling it “pure symbolism.”

He said: “No rationally acting Prime Minister is going to cut his power off at the knees after just winning an election after 14 years of opposition.”

Ultimately, the motion failed with 16 votes in favour and 18 votes against, with six abstentions.