Join the call for Starmer to put Proportional Representation in the Labour Manifesto

 

The only way we are going to get real change is the introduction of Proportional Representation so that voting really matters to everyone. This powerful consortium led by Make Votes Matters has launched a a petition aimed at stopping Starmer's dithering.

They say:

The British public has been demanding Proportional Representation for years.

Support from voters is the highest it has ever been, including having doubled among Labour voters.

Thousands campaign for it every year. From First Ministers Mark Drakeford and Nicola Sturgeon, mayors Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, to grassroots activists up and down the country.

Every major party in Great Britain other than Labour and the Conservatives promised it at the last election.

Now, Labour is a big step closer to joining us.

Labour Conference has now passed a motion calling for Proportional Representation. This is an historic moment.

But you said this is "not a priority".

Without your support there is no guarantee that Labour will introduce Proportional Representation after the next election.

But we are not going away. We will not allow Proportional Representation to be kicked into the long grass.

We want you to take up the torch of electoral reform.

We want a manifesto commitment for Proportional Representation.

However we vote, all of us want to cast our next vote for a party that commits to PR in its manifesto.

 

This is the very similar petition wording: SIGN HERE 

To: Keir Starmer
From: [Your Name]

​The British public has been demanding Proportional Representation for years.

Support from voters is the highest it has ever been, including having doubled among Labour voters.

Thousands campaign for it every year. From First Ministers Mark Drakeford and Nicola Sturgeon, mayors Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, to grassroots activists up and down the country.

Every major party in Great Britain other than Labour and the Conservatives promised it at the last election.

Now, Labour is a big step closer to joining us.

Labour Conference has now passed a motion calling for Proportional Representation. This is an historic moment.

But you said this is "not a priority".

Without your support there is no guarantee that Labour will introduce Proportional Representation after the next election.

But we are not going away. We will not allow Proportional Representation to be kicked into the long grass.

We want you to take up the torch of electoral reform.

We want a manifesto commitment for Proportional Representation.

However we vote, all of us want to cast our next vote for a party that commits to PR in its manifesto.

We are closer than ever to achieving equal votes. Will you join us?

Petition: No more one-party councils: We demand a fair voting system for local elections

I had a number of chats overnight with people from all the parties (except Ukip) at the local elections count at the Civic Centre about the voting system for local elections. Even some Labour activists, despite their euphoria over the results, recognised that the final result (excluding the three councilors still to be elected in Willesden Green) of 50 Labour and three Tories did not match the proportion of the vote each party gained.

The  Electoral Reform Soicety has an on-line petition which may interest readers. You can sign it HERE

This is the commentary on the petition:

England’s voting system is bust. Millions of votes are cast aside, while people feel forced to vote for a ‘lesser evil’ and parties are handed huge, unwarranted majorities.

We demand a change in the voting system for local elections in England and Wales – so that results reflect how people actually vote. Scottish local elections use a proportional voting system.

Northern Ireland has used a fair and proportional system for local elections for decades – and in 2007 Scotland joined them.Wales will soon be giving councils the right to choose. Now it's time England caught up.

It’s time for a proportional system where no one has to ‘hold their nose’ at the ballot box, and where there is healthy competition – rather than a politics of ‘one-party states’ and uncontested fiefdoms.

We call on party leaders to back real reform. Britain deserves a democracy where votes aren’t thrown on the electoral scrapheap – but where there is real choice and where our voices are always heard.