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MPs call for electoral reform as public confidence in political process hits all-time low
A ballot box arrives during the count for the Blackpool South by-election at Blackpool Sports Centre, Blackpool, May 2, 2024

MPs ACROSS the Commons have urged a change in Britain’s voting system as public confidence in the political process hits an all-time low.

The all-party group for fair elections — the biggest such cross-party group in the Commons, and larger than the Tory opposition — called for a national commission to look at electoral reform.

Their demands are backed by opinion polling suggesting that the public would back such a commission by a majority of five to one.

The MPs — most of them Labour — warn that continuing with first-past-the-post now meant a party could win a parliamentary majority with just a quarter of the electorate’s support, opening the door to a Reform government.

They point to the fact that at the last general election 58 per cent of voters ended up with an MP they did not choose and the resulting impact on trust in politics.

The proposed national commission would review the voting system, consult the public and recommend more democratic alternatives.

The parliamentary group chair, Labour MP Alex Sobel, said: “The more volatile politics gets, the more indefensible our first-past-the-post voting system becomes. 

”When elections can be won on 25 per cent of the vote or less, it’s not just unrepresentative — it’s dangerous.“

And Green MP Ellie Chowns added: “With our politics so fragmented and Reform on the rise, there’s now a genuine risk that our voting system could give us an extreme government on a small minority of the vote at the next general election.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has shown no interest in electoral reform, despite it being official Labour policy.

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