Parliament votes for PR

Today, the House of Commons voted for Proportional Representation (PR) for the first time in history.

Sarah Olney – Liberal Democrat MP and member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections – moved a ’10 Minute Rule’ motion to replace First Past the Post with PR for general elections and local elections in England. For the first time, MPs voted in favour.

10 Minute Rule motions are used to draw attention to important issues. While this Bill is not likely to make further progress through Parliament, it is a huge symbolic victory that the House of Commons has backed electoral reform – with the support of cross-party MPs including 59 from the governing party. As a next step, the APPG for Fair Elections is calling on the government to establish a National Commission for Electoral Reform in 2025 to recommend a fair and democratic voting system in which every vote counts equally.

Alex Sobel MP, Chair of the APPG for Fair Elections, said: “It’s fantastic news that MPs have voted in favour of looking at changing our voting system to one of Proportional Representation for general elections for the first time. This reflects a huge shift in opinion both across Parliament and amongst the general public. The government should consider the central point of the bill and look at setting up a National Commission for Electoral Reform to recommend replacement to First Past the Post that makes every vote count equally.”

Ellie Chowns MP, Vice Chair of the APPG for Fair Elections, said: “This is an important milestone on Britain’s journey to becoming a 21st century democracy. We already know almost every party recognises that First Past the Post is driving distrust in politics – and two thirds of the public wants this addressed before the next election. Now MPs have voted to replace this broken system with a fair, proportional one. If the government is serious about restoring trust in politics, they must listen to MPs and voters, starting by establishing a National Commission for Electoral Reform to recommend a fair and democratic voting system in which every vote counts equally.”