On Monday Labour conference debated and voted on a motion to back PR, adding a pledge to their next manifesto.

Despite the overwhelming support of local party delegates, 80% of whom supported the campaign for Labour to back reform, due to opposition from several of the party’s affiliated trade unions the motion was narrowly defeated.

The motion, backed by the Labour for a New Democracy campaign, had been submitted by around 150 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) was the second most popular issue in the CLP section in the conference priority ballot.

The motion, the most submitted on any single issue in recent years – follows a grassroots campaign from party activists in support of electoral reform and growing levels of support across the party.

Supporters of PR won the argument with the Labour membership – both the debate and the result showed almost no support for the broken status quo.

Make no mistake, this is remarkable progress for the campaign. Just a few years ago it would have been near unimaginable for proportional representation to be the main topic of conversation at Labour Conference – talked about in the leader’s office, trade union delegations and the bars and fringe meetings across Brighton.

We always knew that some unions had policy in support of the status quo – which is why we have been working with trade unionists since 2018 through Politics for the Many. As recently as May, ASLEF came on board to support reform.

Active trade unionists within Politics for the Many are already organising to make sure next time the Unions vote en masse with the membership.

Are you in a trade union? Now is the time to get involved and help change union policy to support reform. Sign up with Politics for the Many and see what you can do.

But it also came down to a lack of support from the party’s leadership. PR is a policy that unites the Labour party, with supporters coming from all wings of the party. You saw this at the Labour for PR Rally held on Sunday. MPs, NEC members, activists, young members, trade unionists and local councillors all stood up in support of reform – a united force behind fairer votes.

Had the leadership backed this call from members as they backed other reforms this week PR may now be Labour Party policy.

Keir Starmer needs to live up to what he said in his leadership campaign and use his influence to win this debate. Support for proportional representation among Labour members is not going away.

Next year, let’s make sure the unions and leadership back them as well.

In a trade union? Join Politics for the Many

Labour conference delegates will vote today on whether to back proportional representation, and ditch Westminster’s broken voting system.

Attendees will debate the policy shift at the conference in Brighton, which would push the party to commit the party to scrapping First Past the Post in the next manifesto.

The motion, backed by the Labour for a New Democracy campaign, was the second most popular issue in the Constituency Labour Party section in the conference priority ballot, ensuring that Labour support for proportional representation will be debated on conference floor.

The motion, which was submitted by over 150 constituency Labour Parties – the most on any single issue in recent years – follows a grassroots campaign from party activists in support of electoral reform, and growing levels of support across the party.

Recent polling found that 83% of Labour members support a move to a more proportional voting system.

Members are likely to debate a shift to PR around 3:45pm on Monday, with a vote around 5:50pm.

It’s clear from what we’ve seen at this conference that support for PR is growing. With conference delegates voting overwhelmingly to take the debate forward, it’s clear there’s support across the Labour movement for change.

Caroline Osborne, delegate for Gosport CLP and Labour for a New Democracy activist, said: “We are delighted at Saturday’s overwhelming vote for the motion, which most CLPs support and thousands upon thousands of members back. We hope the leadership will support this clear priority of the membership – if it does, we can together bring the whole of the party behind PR on Monday.”

This debate is a chance for Labour to back an end to Westminster’s broken First Past the Post system and ensure we have an electoral system that puts voters first, and guarantees equality at the ballot box.

Here is the final motion being debated:

Composite 6 – Electoral Reform

With First Past the Post votes do not have equal value. General elections are decided by swing voters in fewer than 100 marginal constituencies. FPTP has created ‘electoral deserts’.

FPTP privileges ‘swing voters’ over neglected voters – including younger, black and minority ethnic communities. It creates widespread disenfranchisement, disillusion, and disengagement in politics, throwing our democracy into crisis. It exacerbates regional, class, gender, wealth and racial inequalities in the House of Commons, in our political culture, and in national conversation. FPTP is unfit for purpose, stacked against the interests of less affluent people and communities, and urgently in need of reform.

A voting system in which every vote counts equally is needed to address the worrying levels of alienation, division and mistrust in British politics. Labour in government played a leading role in introducing forms of PR to the UK’s devolved Government.

There are systems of PR that retain a strong constituency link between MPs and their electorates, while ensuring that all votes count equally and seats match votes.

Those societies with the lowest levels of inequality and social exclusion all have proportional voting systems. We need a Labour government to transform society. But to give everyone a real voice in a 21st century democracy, we must change the voting system.

Conference resolves that:

• The next Labour government must change the voting system for general elections to a form of Proportional Representation
• Labour should convene an open and inclusive process, to decide the specific voting system which the Labour Party will commit to introducing in the next manifesto.

Follow Labour for a New Democracy on Twitter for live updates. You can watch the debate live here.

With Labour’s conference set to begin next week the debate on electoral reform looks set to be one of the big issues on conference floor this year.

At least 144 constituency parties have called on Keir Starmer’s Labour to back a switch to proportional representation this year – more than have made a single demand on any other issue in recent conference history.

Nearly half of all constituency Labour Parties – 314 out of 648 have backed motions in support of the change in recent years with at last 144 making the issue their key policy priority for this year’s conference.

At Labour conference 2019, 135 motions were submitted on the Green New Deal policy and 91 were sent on Brexit. In 2018 the Brexit debate attracted 151 motions calling the party to take different positions on the issue.

Campaigners from the ERS backed Labour for a New Democracy coalition welcomed the “unprecedented demand” for electoral reform and urged the party to back members calls for a fairer voting system.

We’ve long known that support across the Labour membership was growing. Recent polling from YouGov found that 83% of members believe the party should support the introduction of a proportional voting system – with just 10% opposed.

Keir Starmer pledged to address the failings of Westminster’s warped voting system during the leadership contest arguing: “We’ve got to address the fact that millions of people vote in safe seats and they feel their voice doesn’t count. That’s got to be addressed by electoral reform. We will never get full participation in our electoral system until we do that at every level.”

The PR debate at this year’s conference is just the chance to do that, backing the overwhelming calls for political reform.

Until we see the end of Westminster’s broken voting system millions of voters will continue to go ignored each election – a far cry from the far fairer results in Scotland, Wales, the London Assembly and modern democracies across the world.

We don’t have to look far to see how FPTP is failing voters. The current government is able to push through dangerous legislation like voter ID and the policing bill on a minority of the public vote, all because of a broken one-party-takes-all voting system.

Labour could learn a lot from New Zealand, Germany, and Norway, where its sister party looks set to lead a progressive coalition into government, where proportional results are the norm and cooperation is valued.

Voters want political equality, and Labour should seize the chance to build a much better democracy. In the face of attacks on democracy and free elections worldwide, this would send a powerful message of hope.

See our events at Labour Party Conference

A major new project has been launched to encourage the Labour party to back proportional representation.  

Labour for a New Democracy (LfND) is a collaboration between Labour-linked groupings, campaign organisations and prominent MPs, aiming to secure a commitment to changing the voting system by the time of Labour’s 2021 annual conference. 

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark addressed the launch this Monday as the keynote speaker. Helen Clark was Labour Prime Minister shortly after the country introduced proportional representation in the 1990s.  

She told the attendees of the virtual event: “When New Zealand voters were asked if they wanted to switch back to First Past the Post after it was introduced, the majority for proportional representation actually increased to nearly 60%.”  

She added: “Voters like to keep a check on the big parties – proportional representation boosts their power to do that.” While PR helped voters reshape the party system, parties adapted and many have thrived with a closer relationship to voters.  

LfND is backed by the Electoral Reform Society, the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, Make Votes Matter, Compass, Unlock Democracy, Open Labour, Another Europe is Possible, Politics for the Many and Labour for a European Future.  

During the Labour Leadership election, Keir Starmer told the Electoral Reform Society: “We’ve got to address the fact that millions of people vote in safe seats and they feel their voice doesn’t count. That’s got to be addressed by electoral reform. We will never get full participation in our electoral system until we do that at every level.”  

Campaigners are now pushing for that belief to be put into practice. The project will aim to turn this “overwhelming support among local Labour and trade union branches into demands for policy change”, its organisers say. 

Three-quarters of Labour members believe the party should commit to introducing a form of Proportional Representation, meaning the share of seats a party wins matches the share of the votes they receive, according to polling. 

Clive Lewis MP, who spoke at the event, said: “A progressive future will not be dictated by the Labour party alone – we should embrace collaboration and negotiation – something First Past the Post seeks to prevent. 

“PR isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s a strong base to build a better political culture among progressives. Let’s lead by example in a spirit of pluralism and engagement, and get round a fairer voting system,” he said.  

Debbie Abrahams MP told attendees: “Trust and confidence in politicians and our systems are at an all time low. Our electoral system is contributing to this. Westminster’s voting system makes people feel their vote is wasted, and leaves them unheard.” 

Local Labour branches covering 85 parliamentary constituencies have already called for electoral reform in the last few years. Organisers plan to rapidly increase this number in a bid to persuade the party leadership to embrace reform, before taking the policy to the 2021 party conference. 

 Backing the project, Willie Sullivan, Senior Director at the Electoral Reform Society said: “The UK remains the only democracy in Europe to use First Past the Post. Any Labour government serious about redistributing power must make tackling the democratic crisis a priority. Only serious structural reform can begin to repair this lack of faith in our democracy. A proportional voting system for the Commons and a fairly elected second chamber representing all nations and regions of the UK will give people a voice.” 

At the event, Alex Sobel MP pointed to ERS analysis of the 2019 election, adding: “We already have PR in the devolved nations. It’s unfinished business in a lot of the UK.”   

Commenting on the launch, Caroline Osborne from co-ordinating group Make Votes Matter said: “We’re delighted to have brought together such a formidable lineup of Labour and democracy organisations to pursue this common goal. We all lose out from First Past the Post, but without Labour’s support there’s little prospect of it changing. That’s why members everywhere need to stand up for equal votes.” 

Sandy Martin, Chair of Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, added: “More Labour members than ever understand that the system we use to vote determines the governments we get. With PR and a succession of progressive governments, we can tackle the climate emergency, austerity, and global insecurity. Labour for a New Democracy puts that understanding into action. We call on Labour members everywhere to table a simple motion putting their support for PR on the record.” 

Find out more about Labour for a New Democracy