MPs challenge Government inaction on First Past the Post
Members of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee questioned the Government’s lack of action to address Britain’s broken First Past the Post voting system, in the latest sign of growing pressure for electoral reform across Parliament.
Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs asked Minister Rushanara Ali about the Government’s inaction on the issue despite Labour Party policy stating that “the flaws in the current voting system are contributing to the distrust and alienation we see in politics”.
The hearing follows a December’s vote by the House of Commons to back Proportional Representation for the first time in history – and January’s debate in the Commons Chamber in which more than twenty backbench MPs of all parties called for PR and the launch of a National Commission for Electoral Reform, with just one defending the status quo.
Richard Quigley, Labour MP for Isle of Wight West, noted Labour’s official criticism of First Past the Post and asked what assessment the Government has made of the impact of First Past the Post on trust in politics.
When the Minister replied that reforming the voting system is “not a priority”, Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam) interrogated whether this can be sustainable, given the government’s stated intention to restore trust in politics.
Charlotte Cane MP, Liberal Democrat MPs for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, spoke for many when she raised concerns about the lack of urgency the Government is demonstrating when it comes to trust in politics. The APPG for Fair Elections has warned that First Past the Post is a voting system in terminal decline, with results becoming less and less representative – and parties now requiring a dangerously low level of support to win a parliamentary majority.
Closing the loopholes on dark money
There was greater alignment between PACAC members and the Government when it came to tightening the rules around political donations. Asked about an example of a breach of electoral law, the Minister explained that the Government intends to tighten rules around foreign intervention in British politics.
Asked by Sam Carling, Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire, about the risk of foreign donations exercising undue influence, Minister Ali recognised that the current system needs improvement and welcomed thoughts from democracy and transparency organisations.
On the question of donation caps, asked by Luke Taylor MP, the Minister indicated that the Government would be bringing forward its proposals for political finance reform in due course, but that it had not so far committed to limiting donation amounts.
This follows a recent 10 Minute Rule Bill, passed unopposed, in favour of capping donations – and a well attended Backbench Business Debate which set out the need for tighter rules around money in politics.