I am a firm supporter of PR and I was really pleased to hear my union, Unison backed PR at it’s conference last month. I believe First Past the Post is an outdated system which leaves people excluded from our political system. In fact we know that many democracies now use a form of PR. My sister has recently returned from Australia where they use a form of PR and saw a Labour government elected this year. PR is widely used across Europe, the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved bodies and for local government in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Elections for mayors in England and Wales, and for Police and Crime Commissioners also use a PR system. In fact, it is the Tories that are trying to roll back PR in mayoral elections because they see it as a threat!
I would work with MPs across Parliament to bring in PR and make the UK a fairer place. I want a participatory democracy in which everyone feels they have a meaningful stake and a politics which works to bring people together. Our current system doesn’t engage the vast majority of the people in our country. We should never be afraid of a system that brings more people to the table, that allows people to be further engaged and know that their vote counts.
