Proportional representation in the United Kingdom has been a political debate on electoral reform in British politics for many years.
Some British political parties, campaign groups and campaigners have long argued that the current first-past-the-post voting system used for Parliamentary elections should be replaced with a proportional representation electoral system. British lawyer Thomas Hare invented (or perfected) single transferable voting, a candidate-based proportional representation election system in the 1850s. British philosopher John Stuart Mill endorsed PR in his book Considerations on Representative Government. From 1918 to 1929, Scottish school boards (educational authorities of counties and large cities) were elected using STV. STV was used from 1918 to 1950 to elect university MPs, representing the university constituencies of Cambridge, Oxford, Combined English Universities, Combined Scottish Universities and Dublin University (up to 1922). Five of these constituencies (Combined English Universities, Combined Scottish Universities, Dublin University, Oxford University, and Cambridge University) were multi-member seats, electing two or three MPs; the other two had a single seat each. The Representation of the People Act stipulated that university elections were to use STV. STV was used for the 1919 Sligo municipal election. STV was also used for Northern Ireland elections circa 1920.
The devolved states of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland use STV or an additional-member system (AMS) to elect their legislatures.
The first nationwide election using proportional representation was the 1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, when 12 districts were used with district magnitude ranging from 3 to 10. After the 2010 United Kingdom general election, Take Back Parliament was founded and protested the disproportional result. [1] Similar results happened in 2015. [2]
A 2015 poll found that 57% of the public agree with the principle that "the number of seats a party gets should broadly reflect its proportion of the total votes cast" – compared to only 9% who disagree. The poll, which was scientifically weighted, also found that 51% of the population said they were "unhappy with the current electoral system and want it to change" compared to only 28% who want to keep first-past-the-post (FPTP). [3]
A Redfield and Wilton poll [4] conducted in July 2020 showed 54% of respondents supported switching to a Proportional Representation system, with 16% opposed. Results from a YouGov poll of 1,799 adults in Great Britain, conducted on 29 August 2022, placed those supporting proportional representation at 46%, don't know at 28%, and those supporting first-past-the-post at 26%. [5] [6]
In February 2025, a poll suggested British voters support a change to the voting system. [7] A 2025 YouGov poll, found support for proportional representation at 49%, don't know at 25%, and those supporting first-past-the-post at 26%. [8] Most Reform UK, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Labour voters supported PR while Conservative voters are divided.
The introduction of proportional representation has been advocated for some time by the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party of England and Wales, [9] [10] and by some pressure groups, such as Charter 88, Unlock Democracy and the Electoral Reform Society, first formed in 1884. In 1998 and 2003, independent commissions were formed to look into electoral reform. [11] After the 2005 election, in which Labour was elected with the lowest share of the national vote for any single party majority government in British history up to that time (that record was beaten in 2024), more public attention was drawn to the issue. The national newspaper The Independent started a petition for the introduction of a more proportional system immediately after the election, under the title "Campaign For Democracy". [12] [13] Make Votes Matter also advocate for proportional representation. [14]
After its inaugural meeting on 29 November 2016 and until September 2017, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Electoral Reform was a cross-party group consisting of 150 MPs who support electoral reform, chaired by Richard Burden and latterly Chuka Umunna. [15]
Labour pledged in its manifesto for the 1997 general election to set up a commission on alternatives to the first-past-the-post system for general elections and to hold a referendum on whether to change the system. The Independent Commission on the Voting System, headed by Roy Jenkins and known as the Jenkins Commission, was established in December 1997. It reported in October 1998 and suggested the Alternative vote top-up or AV+ system.
The government had expected a recommendation which could have been implemented within the Parliament, and decided that it would be impractical to have a general election using First Past the Post (FPTP) after a referendum decision to adopt a different system, and therefore delayed the referendum until after the next general election. Those elements within the Labour Party opposed to any change persuaded the party not to repeat the pledge for a referendum in the 2001 manifesto, and therefore none was held once the party was re-elected.
After the 2005 election, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said there was "no groundswell" for change, although a Cabinet committee was given the task of investigating reform. John Prescott was appointed as chair; given his known opposition to change, proponents were critical and dismissive of the move. Several prominent Labour MPs expressed a desire for investigating electoral reform, including Peter Hain (who argued in the House of Commons in March 2004 for the Alternative Vote), Patricia Hewitt, Tessa Jowell and Baroness Amos.
As mentioned above, in January 2008 the government produced a "desk-bound" review of the experience to date of new voting systems in the United Kingdom since Labour came to power in 1997. This review was non-committal as to the need for further reform, especially as regards reform of the voting system used in parliamentary elections.
In the 2005–2010 parliament, the Conservative Party was predominantly in favour of retaining FPTP. Although the Conservatives would have won significantly more seats in the 2005 election if some form of proportional representation had been used[ citation needed ], some in the party[ who? ] felt it might find itself politically isolated on the right, and face Labour/Lib Dem coalition governments. Electoral reform, towards a proportional model, was desired by the Liberal Democrats, the Green party, and several other small parties.
In 2019 the Liberal Democrats, Green Party of England and Wales, Scottish National Party, and the Brexit Party (which has since changed its name to Reform UK) all "signed a declaration calling for the first-past-the-post method for Westminster elections to be replaced by a proportional system". [16]
After the UK 2010 general election, the new coalition government agreed to hold a referendum on voting reform. The Alternative Vote referendum took place on 5 May 2011; voters were given the choice of switching to the Instant-runoff vote system or retaining the current one. The result was a vote against AV (a non-proportional system), with 32% in favour and 68% against. [17]
In 2015, the non-profit venture Make Votes Matter was formed to campaign for proportional representation. [18] It made the point that some 68 per cent of votes were ineffective, and hence 'wasted' in the UK general election of 2015. [19]
In 2021, the Conservative government proposed that the voting system for English mayoral and English and Welsh Police and Crime Commissioner elections be reverted to the first-past-the-post system. These elections previously used the supplementary vote system, in which the winner requires at least 50%+1 of the votes after preferences to win. [20] [21] The proposed move was heavily criticised by other parties, which said the Tories "demonstrated their breathtaking arrogance and their utter disdain for devolution". The Electoral Reform Society said the government was seeking to return to "a discredited, outdated and broken voting system". [22] The plans became law following the passing of the Elections Act 2022.
In 2025 the Labour government announced plans to return to the supplementary vote system for mayoral and PCC elections as part of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. [23]
The 2026 Senedd election will be held under full proportional representation for the first time. [24]
PA451 Central Government currently revolves around the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, with the role of Parliament greatly diminished. The most important reform needed to redress this imbalance is the move to proportional representation. This will help to bring an end to the traditional dominance of two political parties in Britain.
