Please note that there is a total time limit of 30 minutes for this item – as set out in the Constitution, Chapter 2, paragraph 14.11
The following Notice of Motion has been proposed by Cllr G Hayman, seconded by Cllr G Perry-Warnes:
‘First Past the Post (FPTP) originated when land-owning aristocrats dominated parliament and voting was restricted to property-owning men.
In Europe, only the UK and authoritarian Belarus still use archaic single-round FPTP for general elections. Internationally, Proportional Representation (PR) is used to elect the parliaments of more than 80 countries. These countries tend to be more equal, freer and greener.
PR ensures all votes count, have equal value, and that seats won match votes cast. Under PR, MPs and Parliaments better reflect the age, gender and protected characteristics of both local communities and of the nation.
MPs better reflecting the communities they represent in turn leads to improved decision-making, wider participation and increased levels of ownership of decisions taken.
PR would also end minority rule. In 2019, 43.6% of the vote produced a government with 56.2% of the seats and 100% of the power. Fair, proportional votes also prevent ‘wrong winner’ elections such as occurred in 1951 and February 1974.
PR is the national policy of the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and Women’s Equality Party along with a host of Trade Unions and pro-democracy organisations.
PR is already used to elect the parliaments and assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its use should now be extended to include Westminster.
This Council therefore resolves to write to H.M. Government calling for a change in our outdated electoral laws and to enable Proportional Representation to be used for UK General Elections’
Minutes:
Cllr G Hayman introduced the item and informed Members that the current voting system was antiquated and no longer adequate for the current political environment. He added that a change in the voting system may help to address disenfranchisement and cynicism amongst the general public if they felt their votes were more likely to have an impact. It was therefore suggested that a proportional system where every vote counted would be more democratic, as all votes would impact the outcome of an election and help to decrease the democratic deficit, whilst also encouraging a more cooperative system of government.
Questions and Discussion
i. Cllr A Brown stated that in December 2020 the Government passed the Parliamentary Constituencies Act, and it had been publicly suggested that this would deliver confidence to voters. However this was misleading given that in the last general election it took 866k votes to elect a Green MP, 335k to elect a Liberal Democrat MP, 50k to elect a Labour MP, and 38k to elect a Conservative MP. It was noted that 11.5% of electors were therefore required to elect 1.7% of seats for the Liberal Democrats, which meant that smaller parties would find it very difficult to elect MPs. Cllr A Brown stated that only 6% of those surveyed believed that their vote counted, whilst 53% felt that decisions made by Government were influenced by party donors, businesses or lobby groups. He added that whilst he would have preferred the motion to be brought after the election, he remained supportive.
ii. Cllr T FitzPatrick noted that it was twelve years since a referendum had been held on the UK’s voting system, which had resulted in 67.9% against changes of the 19m that had voted. He added that votes could also be skewed with proportional representation, as appeared to be the case with the Scottish Assembly, or lead to minority parties holding the balance of power, which suggested that it was not a fail-safe system. Cllr T FitzPatrick stated that he therefore remained unconvinced, and asked whether it was appropriate for the Council to get involved, given that it was a parliamentary matter. He added that in most cases referendums should also be generational, and it may therefore be too soon to revisit.
iii. Cllr C Cushing referred to the referendum and noted that 42% of the population had voted, and the 58% that had not voted may not have been particularly concerned by the current voting system. He added that when discussing matters of concern with residents it was very rare that anyone raised concerns about the Country’s voting system. He added that whilst there were arguments in favour of proportional voting systems, the Conservative Party had also historically suffered as a result of the FPTP system, but it was accepted that overall this had led to strong and stable Governments regardless of which party was elected, and on that basis he could not support the motion.
iv. Cllr V Gay stated that she had voted in favour of a PR voting system during the referendum, and felt that information on the vote had been limited. She added that there was no perfect voting system, but democratic participation was falling, and it may therefore be time to change. The Chairman agreed that the number of voting systems potentially available was confusing, but many people had fought hard to earn the right to vote, and it was therefore important to try to address voter apathy.
v. Cllr S Penfold asked what might be considered a good turnout at the upcoming local elections, which could be approximately 35-40%, which was not good and efforts should be made to address this.
vi. Cllr V FitzPatrick agreed with Cllr Gay’s comments that there was no perfect voting system, but there had to be a system which delivered stable government.
vii. Cllr N Housden noted that some comments could be believed to suggest that voting should be compulsory, and noted that there was significant disenfranchisement across the globe, and efforts had to be made to address this. He added that the morality of senior politicians was a bigger concern that required addressing in advance of voting systems.
viii. Cllr W Fredericks stated that she was particularly concerned about voter turnout given the new ID requirements which would likely further contribute to disenfranchisement whilst there was no recorded voter fraud within the District. She encouraged any residents watching to vote on 4th May, and if they could not make it, to request a postal vote.
ix. Cllr P Heinrich sought to remind Members that the most stable electoral system in Europe for the past seventy years had been Germany, which used a proportional voting system.
x. Cllr G Perry-Warnes stated that this would be her last Full Council meeting and she was glad to have taken part in a balanced and well behaved debate. She added that this was a key reason she supported a proportional voting system, as it encouraged collaboration rather than polarisation by rarely resulting in a significant majority for a single party. It was suggested that encouraging consensus would also limit extreme policies, and remove the need for tactical voting. Cllr G Perry-Warnes stated that a PR system would also end the usual two party system and better reflect the wide range of political views held across the Country. She encouraged Members to support the motion to show that they believed in collaboration rather than polarisation as the way forward for the Country.
xi. Cllr G Hayman reiterated Cllr Perry-Warnes comments and congratulated Members on holding a civilised debate on the matter. He added that he commended the motion and hoped that Members would support it.
xii. The recommendation was proposed by Cllr G Hayman and seconded by Cllr G Perry-Warnes.
RESOLVED
That Council resolves to write to H.M. Government calling for a change in our outdated electoral laws and to enable Proportional Representation to be used for UK General Elections