The government is bringing in new laws to improve our elections – and this is our chance to make things better.
After years of broken promises and an electoral system that has consistently left millions of voices unheard, Parliament finally has the chance to fundamentally fix our democracy. The upcoming Elections Bill presents a rare opportunity that we cannot afford to let slip by.
Progress has made, but not enough
The government has already confirmed that the Elections Bill will be packed with changes we’ve long been fighting for.
In a statement to parliament, the democracy minister set out plans including extending the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds, a modernised and more automated registration system to get the missing millions on the register, scrapping photo ID requirements in favour of non-photographic ID like bank cards, and crucial measures to tackle dodgy money in politics by closing political finance loopholes.
This represents great progress and shows that sustained campaigning can move the dial on democratic reform. However, now we need to push them to go further.
The missing piece is fair votes
Because there’s still one fundamental change missing from this legislation: fair votes.
They’re calling it an ‘Elections’ Bill, but without proportional representation at its heart, it won’t fix the key problem with our elections.
Right now, we elect our MPs using First Past the Post – a winner-takes-all system where only the candidate with the most votes wins, and everyone else gets nothing. The 2024 General Election was the most disproportional in British history. Thanks to First Past the Post, 57.8% of people – that’s 16.6 million voters – ended up represented by an MP they didn’t vote for.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. One MP can never represent the full range of political opinions in an area. Under fairer, proportional voting systems like the Single Transferable Vote, multiple representatives are elected per area, ensuring that far more voices are heard and seats actually match votes cast.
This is why we need to see this Bill go further.
Now is the time to act
It’s time to ensure seats reflect votes and give power back to the voters – all voters, everywhere, regardless of where they happen to live.
We need to speak up now, while they’re still writing these laws. This is our moment. Let’s make sure they go all the way and deliver the fair democracy we deserve.