OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Maggie Nelmes, Ventnor. Ed
The recently introduced Representation of the People’s Bill (RPB), formerly the Elections Bill, is a misnomer. Our First-Past-the-Post voting system is grossly unrepresentative.
In the 2024 general election, Labour won 63.2 per cent of the seats (411) in parliament with only 33.7 per cent of the vote, the lowest vote share ever for a party winning a majority of seats.
Smaller parties often severely under-represented
Since 1945, the winning party in a UK general election has typically won 35 to 45 per cent of the vote, but 55 to 65 per cent of the seats. The losers, usually the smaller parties, are often severely under-represented.
The FPTP electoral system only works fairly in a two-party race, but the UK has a number of parties.
The Representation of the People’s Bill is a rare opportunity to reform our long-outdated voting system, after the Tories’ 2022 Elections Act damaged far more than it fixed.
Positive points
The Bill does contain some positive proposals:
- votes at 16, when young people can work and pay taxes, with support for schools, colleges and youth groups to deliver voter and civic education;
- a big step towards Automatic Voter Registration;
- stronger enforcement powers for elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission, though still empowering ministers to set its agenda risks abuse;
- a requirement for candidates to provide evidence when submitting nomination papers to prevent ‘ghost-candidates’; and
- a greatly expanded list of acceptable forms of voter ID, which currently discriminates against some groups of voters.
Financial reform
But campaign financial reform doesn’t go far enough.
We need a cap on donations from individuals and corporations to prevent interference, foreign and domestic, in our elections’ outcomes.
Independent National Commission on Electoral Reform
To restore public trust, the Government needs to set up an independent National Commission on Electoral Reform to decide whether our system is fit for purpose, and, if not, replace it with the most suitable form of proportional representation. Scotland and Wales have already done so.
PR generally results in coalitions, which require politicians to work co-operatively, preventing damaging extremism.
This Bill is a missed opportunity.
Write to your MP
Please write to your MP expressing your concerns.
- Richard Quigley | Isle of Wight West
- Joe Robertson | Isle of Wight East
