Lots of people think the way we vote in the UK isn’t fair. They want something called proportional representation. But what does that mean?
There are lots of different ways to decide who gets to sit in parliament, some are more ‘proportional’ and some are less. Proportional representation means that the number of seats a party gets in parliament should match the number of votes they get. For example, if a party gets one-third of the votes, they should get one-third of the seats. The number of MPs in parliament are ‘in proportion’ to the votes cast.
Right now, the UK uses a system called First Past the Post. This, along with other systems like Alternative Vote and Supplementary Vote can sometimes be fair, but often they are not. These systems are called majoritarian, and they don’t always give parties the number of seats that match their votes.
This can make voting confusing. In some past UK elections, the party with the most votes didn’t win the most seats, so they couldn’t form the government.
There are better systems that try to be fairer. More proportional ways of electing MPs like Party List Proportional Representation, the Single Transferable Vote and the Additional Member System, have been designed with the aim of making the number of MPs in parliament match the share of the vote their party received.
Some of these systems let you vote for a party. Others let you vote for a person.
In proportional systems, each area picks more than one MP. The area could be a town, a county, or even the whole country. This means the MPs chosen can better reflect the different views of the people who live there.
What happens when you use proportional voting?
Before 2007, Scotland used First Past the Post for local councils. This caused problems like one-party councils and seats with no competition. Many people felt their votes didn’t count.
In 2007, Scotland changed to the Single Transferable Vote system. This made elections more fair and competitive. People could vote for who they really wanted, instead of voting just to stop another party.
Other parts of the UK—like Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland—now use fairer voting systems. It’s time for Westminster to do the same, so everyone’s voice can be heard.
Sign our petition for fair votes in Westminster