The current system of voting representatives for general elections in the UK is the ‘first past the post’ or ‘simple majority’ system. The UK is split into different geographic locations, called constituencies. These constituencies have approximately the same population. As people constantly move, the boundaries of these constituencies have to be altered from time to time to ensure people are receiving fair representation, and in the UK this is done by the Boundary Commision.
One candidate will be elected from each constituency to represent it in the House of Commons. The winning candidate needs only a majority of the vote to be elected, ie a candidate could win 34% of the vote and two other candidates could each receive 33% of the votes. Even though there is only 1% more for one candidate, he/she would be elected. This is one of the main arguments against the simple majority system, as although potentially 66% of a constituency could vote for candidates, but a candidate they didn’t vote for could win with just 34% of the vote.
The main advantage of the ‘simple majority’ system is that voters do not get confused and it is easier than other systems to count ballots. A system such as STV means that voters sometimes think they have to put numbers in each box, which the don’t, and in the event of their vote being transferred could mean they end up voting for a party which they have no support for at all.
Proportional Representation systems with multi-member constituencies are the best way to overcome this problem, as discussed later.
In 1997, the Labour manifesto pledged an independent commission on the UK voting system followed by a referendum to allow the public to decide which system of voting it wanted. When the current Labour government was voted into power, it set up the independent commission under the Chairmanship of Lord Jenkins to investigate the possibilities of changing the voting system for general elections in the UK.
“The Independent Commission on the Voting System made proposals for electoral reform at Westminster. We will review the experience of the new systems and the Jenkins report to assess whether changes might be made to the electoral system for the House of Commons. A referendum remains the right way to agree any change for Westminster."(Extract from Labour partys 2001 manifesto)
The Commission recommended a new system called the Alternative Vote Plus (AV+), a system which combines an increase in proportionality with a strong link between voter and MP and increases the ability of each voter to choose the candidate who best represents them.
The Fact that the British Government has reviewed the process means that doubts about it are occurring across the board. We await to see whether or not the referendum will take place as promised by Labour, or if the topic will be allowed to fade into the backround. There are already groups set up to try to hold Labour to its promise, such as ‘The Electoral Reform Society’ () and ‘The Constitution Unit’ at University College, London ().