SCOTTISH Labour MPs are backing calls for a review of the Westminster voting system.
More than 60 MPs have put their names to an amendment which would establish a National Commission on Electoral Reform.
The proposal, put forward by Labour’s Alex Sobel, would commit the UK Government to review the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system for General Election and make recommendations within a year of its launch on possible reforms.
The amendment to the Representation of the People Bill – which includes the headline measure of reducing the voting age to 16 – says experts and the public should have their say on creating system which is “fair, representative, and capable of sustaining public confidence in democratic outcomes”.
Among those backing the call are Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank, Glenrothes MP Richard Baker, and Edinburgh South West MP Scott Arthur.
Arthur wrote a piece for LabourList this week which set out why he believed it was time to scrap the “failing and chaotic” FPTP system.
Noting that Labour and the Tories got just 58% of the vote combined at the last election – which Labour won on the lowest share of the popular vote ever – Arthur said: “Labour must not become defenders of a broken status quo – the old two-party dominance that made first past the post appear workable has given way.”
He added: “As public distrust has fallen to record lows, and turnout has dropped, the Conservatives, and Labour, have continued to win large majorities on ever-smaller margins of public support.”
The backbencher – who has been loyal to the Government – argued that research had found that “the only countries with high and rising public satisfaction with democracy all use proportional representation” and said proportional systems worked in Scotland.
He added: “In Scotland, we have lived with multi-party politics for a generation. Holyrood has operated for a quarter of a century under a system designed to balance constituency representation with proportional fairness.
“And during my time as a councillor in the City of Edinburgh, I was elected twice under proportional representation through the single transferable vote system. Edinburgh’s council chamber looks like the city itself: politically mixed, diverse in outlook, and, mostly, free from single-party-dominance.
“Crucially, voters can see themselves reflected in the outcome and politics is more stable, with negotiated legislative frameworks and multi-party backing protecting key policies from abrupt reversals, and encouraging planning beyond election cycles.”
