Electoral Reform Society
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We called these groups: 'Decisive Votes' votes cast that a candidate needed to be elected; 'Unrepresented Votes' - votes cast for candidates that weren’t elected and 'Surplus Votes' - votes cast for a candidate above what was needed for them to be elected. If you break it down by party, you get this
@lewisbaston.bsky.social While looking at your 2007 epic 'Britain’s Experience of Electoral Systems', I noticed this rather prescient section – only a few percentage points off!
Bradford shows why no overall control is not the same as proportional representation. Six parties are represented, and no party governs alone, but the results are still entirely out of proportion to how people voted. electoral-reform.org.uk/a-council-wi...
The opposite happened in Croydon, where a slim lead in the popular vote for the Conservative Party led to them coming second place in the council chamber.
First Past the Post is often dubbed a ‘winner takes all system’. But remarkably, it cannot even guarantee that the party with the most votes will win the most seats. This is what happened in Wandsworth, as the Conservatives managed to turn a second place in votes into the most seats on the council.
And in Sutton, the results are stark. The Liberal Democrats have taken almost all the seats on the Council with a minority share of the vote.
It’s a similar story in Havering, as Reform picked up 70% of the seats on just 36% of the vote share.
Our team has been analysing the results as they come in, and the pattern is already clear. In Hammersmith and Fulham, Labour have over three quarters of the seats on little over a third of the vote.
A former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, Sushil Wadhwani, has made the case for why proportional representation would be good for the economy. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Choosing which voting system to use based on how it treats your party, under current polling, is always doomed to fail when polling changes. As we argued at the time, STV would have been a better choice for the Senedd. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
We've tried to stop people sending them in, but with little luck. My favourites are the people that invent already existing voting systems that they have re-invented – it's just AMS, but you've named it after yourself.
This chart from the article shows every political party being punished by First Past the Post in current polling, except Reform and the SNP – with Labour as the party that suffers the most. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Watch this moment from Parliament as MPs debate whether the UK should move toward proportional representation during discussion of the Representation of the People Bill.
MPs are speaking up about the need for proportional representation during debate on the Representation of the People Bill. Do you agree with Manuela that the UK should change how it elects MPs?
Calls for electoral reform were raised in the House of Commons during debate on the Representation of the People Bill. Do you think it is time for proportional representation in the UK?
This week, MPs have been calling for the government to include making parliament representative of how we vote, as part of the Representation of the People Bill. This is a real opportunity for the government to make a difference.
This isn't a setting our end, but something you control in your Bluesky account settings under 'Content and Media', as shown in this screenshot.
This week, MPs have been calling for a National Commission to build a consensus on a new voting system for Westminster through broad public consultation, deliberation and expert evidence gathering.
As the Representation of the People Bill has been working through parliament, MPs have been calling on the government to make the bill live up to its name and give us a parliament that is representative of how we voted.
In 2022, the previous government decided that the Electoral Commission, which polices fair play in elections, had to consider the priorities of the politicians it oversees. So it's fantastic news that last night the current government announced they will be restoring their independence.
William Hague has called for much greater use of citizens' assemblies to help renew our democracy. buff.ly/HySg7D1
When we don’t want people to pick up an activity, we don’t let them start until they are 18. Sixteen-year-olds do not need protecting from voting. They need access to it. buff.ly/88J27WT
Elections are the key pillar of our democracy and should not be dismissed as a bureaucratic inconvenience. It is concerning that elections could be seen as something that detracts from councils’ roles, rather than the vital mandate local politicians need. buff.ly/njsYDDu
"The UK’s consequent short-termist and unpredictable policies actively damage business confidence, creating the hesitancy to invest and discouraging the long-term planning" First Past the Post is bad for business. buff.ly/LfEs6B1
Where the lines go can directly affect who represents you and how many MPs each party has. Watch how the boundaries rotate round in this fictional town and the results change. Thankfully, we have independent Boundary Commissions, but their decisions still change election results.
You shouldn't need a PhD in psephology to work out what parliament would look like based on a poll - but without a fancy statistical model, you would just be guessing to say what this would produce.
It's remarkable how similar the voting patterns were in Norway's election last week and our general election in 2024. But they have a voting system that respects the voters, while we have one which warps the result. electoral-reform.org.uk/norways-elec...
Director of Electoral Reform Society Cymru Jess Blair appeared on BBC News this afternoon, outlining why the Government's announcement that the whole of the UK is getting Votes at 16 is a cause for celebration.
Our Chief Executive Darren has been quoted in the Guardian welcoming the changes proposed in the upcoming Elections Bill.