The next Labour leader must champion electoral reform

In the most disproportionate election result in modern British electoral history, on the 7^th May 2015, the Conservative Party received 36.9% of the vote and 51% of the seats in Parliament. Not only did this result in Ed Miliband’s resignation and the current Labour Leadership contest, but it is also resuscitated urgent calls for electoral reform. With a government elected by only 24% of eligible voters, there is widespread dissatisfaction with First Past the Post among the public and in the Labour Party as a whole, especially as the party gained votes, but lost seats. A commitment to reform a voting system which clearly does not reflect the preferences of millions of voters would be a wise decision which would resonate with Green, former Liberal Democrat and especially UKIP voters, all of whose support will be key to winning in 2020.

In the current Leadership contest, much debate has occurred about how to win back swing voters who voted Conservative in 2015, and while this is a crucial task it must also be remembered that a third of the electorate did not vote at all. Therefore, a sizeable portion of people need to feel their voices are being heard and that they could possibly be heard. It is necessary to reach out to non-voters to build a broad political movement and the mobilisation of just 10% of those people could help decide an election in Labour’s favour.

Appealing to those who did not vote takes far more than just electoral reform, but for Labour to truly be the party of change it needs to address the unfair system we currently have. The frustration felt by many people in safe seats where it feels like your vote does not make a difference, combined with the widespread incredulity at seeing UKIP receive over three times as many votes as the SNP but only 1 MP causes disillusionment and disengagement. This harms both the public’s faith in voting but also raises questions of legitimacy for the current and future governments. The Conservatives will not be the ones to change it so it falls to Labour to lead a coalition calling for electoral reform and for the next Labour Leader to champion that cause.

Though there has been reluctance to discuss the issue after the failure of the 2011 AV campaign, there is now a new momentum to make change a reality, with over half a million people signing a petition calling for fair votes within a few days of the election. Subsequently, this should be an important issue for the Labour Leadership contenders who wish to present themselves as the ‘change candidate’, who is going to reach out and listen to the concerns of ordinary people. Exactly what kind of system could replace First Past the Post is up for discussion, possibly along with ideas such as making the first time people can vote compulsory, in order to engage more young people in politics.

Regardless of the solution, the current system needs to be reformed and whichever Leadership candidate can commit to that will surely gain support from the party and the country. Burnham, Cooper, Corbyn, Kendall- take note.