Elections (Proportional Representation)
Debate between Sarah Olney and Alex SobelTuesday 3rd December 2024
(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill 2024-26 View all Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text
A Ten Minute Rule Bill is a First Reading of a Private Members Bill, but with the sponsor permitted to make a ten minute speech outlining the reasons for the proposed legislation.
There is little chance of the Bill proceeding further unless there is unanimous consent for the Bill or the Government elects to support the Bill directly.
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Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England; and for connected purposes.
We are experiencing an unprecedented political moment in this country. Our most recent general election, in July this year, returned a Government with the second biggest majority of seats of any Government since the second world war, but on the lowest share of the vote ever recorded for a winning party. The first-past-the-post voting system used in UK parliamentary elections has delivered two thirds of the seats in the House of Commons to the Labour party, which attracted just one third of the votes cast. Thanks to first past the post, nearly 60% of people who voted in the general election in July are not represented in Parliament by the candidate that they voted for. This is the most disproportionate election result that this country has ever seen.
We are also seeing record levels of disillusionment with the political process, with citizens becoming increasingly disengaged. This is reflected in the fact that turnout in the 2024 general election was the second lowest since 1918, at just under 60%. Over 40% of registered voters in the UK thought so little of the political process that they did not think it worth expressing a preference for one candidate over another.
There are many urgent and pressing challenges facing the UK today, but it is essential that the vast majority of its citizens actively support the mechanisms by which the decisions are made to address them. Increasing levels of disengagement threaten our ability to respond both to immediate challenges and to longer-term issues.
The Liberal Democrats believe—and have always believed—that a fair voting system is an essential bedrock of a functioning democracy. Democracy has proved to be the most effective and enduring governing system because it relies on a broad base of support across the population. A faulty voting system delivering a majority Government on a minority vote undermines democracy and its ability to deliver effective government. That is why I am presenting this ten-minute rule Bill. In the face of growing worldwide threats to democratic Governments and institutions, the UK needs to urgently reassert the value of participative democracy as an essential component in peaceful and prosperous societies. To do that, we need to respond to the democratic challenges that have emerged in our own country by adopting the provisions in the Bill.
Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley) (Lab/Co-op)
Will the hon. Member give way?