Make Votes Matter

Last updated

Make Votes Matter
Founded2015;8 years ago (2015)
London, United Kingdom
Type Non-governmental organization
Focus Democracy, electoral reform, elections, proportional representation
Location
Area served
United Kingdom
Method Lobbying, grassroots campaigning, education
Key people
  • Klina Jordan, Co-founder and Chief Executive
  • Owen Winter, Co-founder and Spokesperson
  • Tim Ivorson, Co-founder and Company Secretary
Website http://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/

Make Votes Matter is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which campaigns for replacing the first-past-the-post voting system with one of proportional representation for elections to the British House of Commons.

Contents

Overview

Make Votes Matter is "the cross-party campaign to introduce Proportional Representation to the House of Commons, led by democratically-organised activists in a united movement for electoral reform." [1] It was co-founded by Owen Winter, Klina Jordan and other activists. [2] It advocates for the replacement of the first-past-the-post currently used for elections to the House of Commons. Make Votes Matter advocates a proportional representation system (in line with the rest of Europe), campaigning for it based on the principles established in the Make Votes Matter Declaration. These are that a voting system should ensure:

The pressure group favours replacing the current voting system in the UK (First Past the Post), with a system of proportional representation where each vote individually counts and correlates to seats in parliament. [3]

Activities

In the weeks following the 2015 general election a number of online petitions calling for electoral reform emerged, coordinated by individuals and organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society and Unlock Democracy. These petitions received over 477,000 signatures and were delivered to 10 Downing Street by a cross-party group of politicians. [4] Through these petitions, a group of activists formed to continue campaigning for proportional representation.

In February 2016, Make Votes Matter organised a cross-party summit to discuss how to achieve a reformed voting system attended by politicians including Chuka Umunna and Natalie Bennett. [5]

In May 2016, the organisation orchestrated an open letter to then Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, signed by 7 MPs and over 10,000 members of the public, including 2,000 Labour members. [6]

Most recently, the campaign has orchestrated national days of action for Proportional Representation such as Hungry for Democracy on 6 February 2018 in which 407 people joined a 24-hour "hunger strike". [7] Those that took part in the day of action included public figures, MEPs, and MPs such as Stephen Kinnock. [8] Later on in 2018, the campaign organised a nationwide day of action - Demand Democracy Day - on 30 June as a prelude to the inaugural Cabinet Office-organised National Democracy Week. [9] The action day saw volunteers organise events in over 60 towns and cities across the UK from Truro to Aberdeen. [10]

Make Votes Matter is supported by an alliance of organisations and individuals that have endorsed the 'Make Votes Matter Declaration'. This includes the Green Party of England and Wales, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party and UKIP as well as ex-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Michael Sheen, Frankie Boyle, the Electoral Reform Society and others. [11]

Labour for a New Democracy

In September 2020, Make Votes Matter joined with other pressure groups and Labour MPs to launch Labour for a New Democracy, a campaign to "build support for UK electoral reform in Labour with the aim of changing party policy by the time its next conference takes place". [12]

According to polling by YouGov in December 2019 three-quarters of Labour members believe the party should commit to supporting proportional representation and adopt it as a policy. [13] A YouGov poll in April 2021 suggested 62% of Labour Party voters support proportional representation. [14] A later poll by YouGov in September 2021 suggested this number had risen to 66% of Labour Party voters supporting proportional representation. [15] A poll in July 2021 of almost 1,000 Labour Party members resulted in 83% saying they believed the party should back proportional representation. [16] As of 4 June 2022, 334 constituency Labour parties (CLPs) had passed policy in favour of proportional representation. [17] This works out as a majority of the 648 total CLPs, of which it passed the majority mark in December 2021. [18] [19]

A motion to support proportional representation was rejected at the September 2021 Labour Party conference. Over 150 constituency Labour parties (CLPs) voted to send motions on proportional representation to conference and it was the second most popular issue for the conference. 79.51% of constituency Labour Party delegates backed the motion, while 95.03% of affiliates – almost entirely comprising unions – voted against. [14] [20] This led to an overall result of 42.24% in favour of the motion and 57.76% opposed. [21] Labour for a New Democracy responded saying "Our task now is to bring on board the leadership and wider Labour movement." [21]

On 21 September 2022, it was announced that 370 CLPs were in support of proportional representation, equating to approximately 60% of all CLPs in the UK. [22] On 26 September 2022, Labour Party members and trade unions voted in favour of ending the first-past-the-post electoral system and replacing it with a proportional electoral system at the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool. [23] [24] However, the motion is not binding. [25] The motion was submitted to the Labour Party conference by approximately 140 local Labour Party groups. [26] Since the party's previous conference in 2021, more trade unions including the two largest in Unite and Unison have voted among themselves to embrace support for proportional representation. [26] [27] However, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has said that electoral reform is not a priority and ruled out putting electoral reform in the Labour Party's next election manifesto. [25] The decision by Keir Starmer has received criticism from multiple figures within the party, including Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell, and Neal Lawson who chairs and helped set up the Labour affiliated think tank Compass. [28] [29] [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions among voters. The essence of such systems is that all votes cast - or almost all votes cast - contribute to the result and are effectively used to help elect someone—not just a bare plurality, or (exclusively) the majority—and that the system produces mixed, balanced representation reflecting how votes are cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First-past-the-post voting</span> Plurality voting method

In a first-past-the-post electoral system, formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their vote for a candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes wins even if the top candidate gets less than 50%, which can happen when there are more than two popular candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Party Conference</span> Annual gathering of the British Labour Party

The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conference season when the House of Commons is in recess, after each year's second Liberal Democrat Conference and before the Conservative Party Conference. The Labour Party Conference opens on a Sunday and finishes the following Wednesday, with an address by the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party; the Leader's address is usually on the Tuesday. In contrast to the Liberal Democrat Conference, where every party member attending its Conference, either in-person or online, has the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system, or the Conservative Party Conference, which does not hold votes on party policy, at the Labour Party Conference, 50% of votes are allocated to affiliated organisations, and the other 50% to Constituency Labour Parties, but all voting in both categories is restricted to nominated representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral reform in New Zealand</span>

Electoral reform in New Zealand has, in recent years, become a political issue as major changes have been made to both parliamentary and local government electoral systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral Reform Society</span> British advocacy group for electoral reform

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is an independent campaigning organisation based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It seeks to replace first-past-the-post voting with proportional representation, advocating the single transferable vote. It is the world's oldest operating organisation concerned with political and electoral reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform</span> British political organisation

The Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform (LCER) is an organisation formed of members and supporters of the British Labour Party, who are interested in issues of democratic renewal and electoral reform.

In the parliamentary politics of the United Kingdom and Canada, one member, one vote (OMOV) is a method of selecting party leaders, and determining party policy, by a direct vote of the members of a political party. Traditionally, these objectives have been accomplished either by a party conference, party convention, vote of members of parliament, or some form of electoral college. OMOV backers claim that OMOV enhances the practice of democracy, because ordinary citizens will be able to participate. Detractors counter that allowing those unversed in the issues to help make decisions makes for bad governance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Blomfield</span> British Labour politician

Paul Christopher Blomfield is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Central since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union from 2016 to 2020 and Shadow Minister for Brexit and European Union Negotiations from 2020 to 2021.

Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the procedure of elections in the United Kingdom

There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local elections, mayoral elections, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the Prime Minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are: the single member plurality system (first-past-the-post), the multi-member plurality system, the single transferable vote, the additional member system, and the supplementary vote.

Take Back Parliament (TBP) was an organisation campaigning for democratic reform in the United Kingdom. The group was formed immediately before the 2010 general election, with funding from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, hoping that there would be opportunities to push for electoral reform after the election. It took a leading role in the 2011 referendum on the Alternative Vote, pushing AV as better than the existing first past the post electoral system and potentially a step towards a proportional representation system. The group no longer exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum</span> 2011 referendum in the UK on reforming the voting system

The United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, also known as the UK-wide referendum on the Parliamentary voting system was held on Thursday 5 May 2011 in the United Kingdom (UK) to choose the method of electing MPs at subsequent general elections. It occurred as a provision of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement drawn up in 2010 and also indirectly in the aftermath of the 2009 expenses scandal. It operated under the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and was the first national referendum to be held under provisions laid out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Young Labour is the youth section of the UK Labour Party. Membership is automatic for Labour Party members aged 14 to 26.

Vladimir Derer (1919–2014) was a British political activist in the Labour Party who escaped from Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s to live in Britain. For nearly four decades Vladimir was an important leader and strategist in the campaign to transform the Labour Party by making it more democratic and accountable to its members. He helped to form the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD) in 1973 and was its secretary from 1974 until 2005. The CLPD is dedicated to introduce constitutional and rule changes and modernise the governance of the Party. Mandatory reselection of MPs and electoral college for the Leader were the most notable of many important democratic reforms implemented from the late 1970s until today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Zeichner</span> British politician

Daniel Stephen Zeichner is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridge since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he defeated Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert before retaining his seat in the 2017 and 2019 general elections. Prior to his parliamentary career, Zeichner was a councillor for eight years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kyle</span> British Labour politician

Peter Kyle is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Long-Bailey</span> British Labour Party politician

Rebecca Roseanne Long-Bailey, is a British politician and former solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Long-Bailey served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2016 to 2017, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for Education in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalism in the United Kingdom</span> Proposed constitutional reform of a division of powers

Federalism in the United Kingdom aims at constitutional reform to achieve a federal UK or a British federation, where there is a division of legislative powers between two or more levels of government, so that sovereignty is decentralised between a federal government and autonomous governments in a federal system.

The 2020 Labour Party leadership election was triggered after Jeremy Corbyn announced his intention to resign as the leader of the Labour Party following the party's defeat at the 2019 general election. It was won by Keir Starmer, who received 56.2 per cent of the vote on the first round. It was held alongside the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election, in which Angela Rayner was elected to succeed Tom Watson as deputy leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Party leadership of Keir Starmer</span>

The Labour Party leadership of Keir Starmer began when Keir Starmer was elected as Leader of the UK Labour Party in April 2020, following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election. Starmer's tenure as leader has been marked by his opposition to some of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and various other issues involving the government, including Partygate, the cost of living crisis, and the industrial disputes. In February 2023, Starmer's antisemitism reforms resulted in the party no longer being monitored by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

References

  1. ↑ "Make Votes Matter" . Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Our team". Make Votes Matter. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Make Votes Matter Declaration" . Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "UKIP joins cross-party push for electoral reform". BBC. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Cross-party alliance draws up plan to secure proportional representation 'by 2021'". The Independent. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Labour MPs call on Jeremy Corbyn to back proportional representation in UK". The Independent. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Make Votes Matter - #Hungry4Democracy". Make Votes Matter.
  8. ↑ McDuff, Phil (6 February 2018). "British democracy is failing. Let's finish the suffragettes' job | Phil McDuff" – via www.theguardian.com.
  9. ↑ "National Democracy Week 2018". GOV.UK.
  10. ↑ "Make Votes Matter - Demand Democracy Day". Make Votes Matter.
  11. ↑ "The Alliance: pro PR groups and public figures" . Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Kersley, Andrew (19 September 2020). "'Labour for a New Democracy' launches to push leadership on electoral reform". LabourList . Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  13. ↑ Stone, Jon (17 December 2019). "Three-quarters of Labour members want party to back proportional representation". The Independent . Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  14. 1 2 Chappell, Elliot (27 September 2021). "Conference rejects motion committing Labour to proportional representation". LabourList. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  15. ↑ "Should we change our current British voting system?". YouGov. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  16. ↑ Chappell, Elliot; Rodgers, Sienna (19 July 2021). "Exclusive: 83% of members say Labour should back proportional representation". LabourList. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "334 CLPs have passed policy in favour of Proportional Representation". Labour for a New Democracy. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "2021 and what's next for #Labour4PR". Labour for a New Democracy. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "144 conference motions on PR & 314 CLPs in favour". Labour for a New Democracy. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  20. ↑ Walker, Peter (27 September 2021). "Unions vote down local Labour parties' call to axe first past the post". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  21. 1 2 "Campaign report: Proportional Representation at #Lab21". Labour for a New Democracy. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "PR biggest issue at conference again". labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk. Labour for a New Democracy. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022. 370 CLPs - about 60% of all the CLPs in the country - now have policy in favour of PR. With a majority of affiliated unions in favour of electoral reform, we're excited about what this could mean in Liverpool.
  23. ↑ "Labour backs Proportional Representation". labourforanewdemocracy.org.uk. Labour for a New Democracy. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  24. ↑ Cowan, Doug (27 September 2022). "Labour Party conference backs proportional representation". electoral-reform.org.uk. Electoral Reform Society. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  25. 1 2 Savage, Michael; Helm, Toby (24 September 2022). "Keir Starmer defies call for changes to first past the post voting system". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  26. 1 2 Walker, Peter; Allegretti, Aubrey (26 September 2022). "Labour delegates back motion calling on party to back PR". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Morton, Becky (27 September 2022). "Labour members back calls for electoral reform". BBC News. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Schofield, Kevin (25 September 2022). "Andy Burnham Says Keir Starmer Is Wrong To Oppose Proportional Representation". HuffPost (UK edition). Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  29. ↑ Nevett, Joshua (26 September 2022). "Starmer accused of acting like monarch in vote row". BBC News. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  30. ↑ Lawson, Neal (26 September 2022). "Keir Starmer is wrong to oppose proportional representation". The New Statesman. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.