{"id":4522,"date":"2020-03-02T16:10:36","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T16:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/?p=4522"},"modified":"2020-03-18T10:41:28","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T10:41:28","slug":"ignored-and-unrepresented-report-reveals-how-westminsters-electoral-system-continues-to-fail-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/ignored-and-unrepresented-report-reveals-how-westminsters-electoral-system-continues-to-fail-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignored and unrepresented: Report reveals how Westminster\u2019s electoral system continues to fail voters"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row flexible-block\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12\">\n<div class=\"video-with-caption\">\n<div class=\"video-with-caption__embed embed-container\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6Fo1jP6IAL8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row flexible-block\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 wysiwyg\">\n<p>Something is deeply wrong when over 70% of votes count for nothing. That\u2019s what Westminster\u2019s voting system did in December\u2019s election, according to a damning new analysis from the ERS.<\/p>\n<p>Of 32 million votes cast, a staggering 22.6 million people had their votes ignored, the ERS\u2019 new report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/latest-news-and-research\/publications\/the-2019-general-election-voters-left-voiceless\/\"><em>Voters Left Voiceless<\/em><\/a>, on the results of the 2019 election shows.<\/p>\n<p>Of these votes, 14.5 million went to non-elected candidates. The remaining 8.1 million ignored ballots were surplus votes for winning candidates, above and beyond the number the needed to win. Meaning that just 9.4 million votes directly contributed to the result. Under a proportional system like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/voting-systems\/types-of-voting-system\/single-transferable-vote\/\">Single Transferable Vote<\/a> (STV), these votes would be redistributed \u2013 ensuring voters aren\u2019t left on the electoral scrapheap.<\/p>\n<p>All of this has huge implications for the issues that get heard, and people\u2019s trust in our political system. Voters are systematically ignored, fostering a political climate of disillusionment and disengagement.<\/p>\n<p>The problem affects voters differently depending on where they live or who they support. Across the UK, just over 50% of Labour voters saw their vote unrepresented (i.e. they did not support a winning candidate), while 92 percent of the Liberal Democrats\u2019 3.7 million voters suffered the same fate.<\/p>\n<p>Smaller parties are hit hard, with over 96% of votes for the Green Party going unrepresented alongside all of the Brexit Party\u2019s 644,255 votes. When one party takes all, others are left to pick up the scraps.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/1466337\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>As a result,\u00a0<strong>Westminster doesn\u2019t properly represent Britain \u2013 with seats in Parliament failing to match how people actually voted<\/strong>. This was evident in 2019, where parties \u2013 and indeed voters \u2013 were encouraged to focus on tactics rather than policies, reflecting the dysfunctional nature of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/voting-systems\/types-of-voting-system\/first-past-the-post\/\">First Past the Post<\/a> system. Polling by YouGov for the ERS after the election found nearly a third of voters saying that they held their nose and voted tactically.<\/p>\n<p><strong>People are fed up with a toxic, divisive political system that benefits the already powerful.\u00a0<\/strong>When parties can take power without majority support, we all lose out.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time for a change. The UK must join most other modern democracies in delivering an electoral system that ensures that all voters are heard, no matter what party they support.<\/p>\n<p>Only through a proportional electoral system, where seats match votes, can this be achieved, electing a Parliament that is truly representative of modern British society.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than increasing polarisation and distrust, proportional systems help foster consensus and deliver fair representation, ensuring that all the issues we care about are taken forward to the House of Commons and all voices are heard. It is unsurprising, therefore, that much research has shown that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/voters-dislike-disproportionate-results-even-when-their-own-party-benefits\/\">proportional systems make satisfied voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Take the recent Irish General Election for example. Unlike the UK, with its growing cases of tactical voting,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/if-people-want-change-in-ireland-they-can-get-it-at-the-ballot-box\/\">voters in Ireland<\/a>\u00a0feel they can vote for who they\u00a0<em>actually<\/em>\u00a0want to, meaning that \u2013 in contrast to the situation at Westminster \u2013 voters are represented fairly in the D\u00e1il.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>2019 was not the first election where the majority of voters went ignored. To make this the last time, sign our\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/action.electoral-reform.org.uk\/page\/3782\/petition\/1\"><strong><em>petition<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>\u00a0for a fairer electoral system that ensures all voices are heard in Westminster.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electoral-reform.org.uk\/latest-news-and-research\/publications\/the-2019-general-election-voters-left-voiceless\/\"><strong><em>And read the report here<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em><u>.<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/action.electoral-reform.org.uk\/page\/3782\/petition\/1?ea.tracking.id=yi2xbabf\" class=\"btn\">Sign our\u00a0petition\u00a0for a fairer electoral system<\/a>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row flexible-block\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12\">\n<div class='gf_browser_chrome gform_wrapper' id='gform_wrapper_2' >\n<div id='gf_2' class='gform_anchor' tabindex='-1'><\/div>\n<form method='post' enctype='multipart\/form-data' target='gform_ajax_frame_2' id='gform_2'  action='\/wp-admin\/post.php#gf_2'>\n<div class='gform_heading'>\n<h3 class='gform_title'>Enjoy this blog? Sign up for more from the Electoral Reform Society<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class='gform_body'>\n<ul id='gform_fields_2' class='gform_fields top_label form_sublabel_above description_above'>\n<li id='field_2_1'  class='gfield field_sublabel_above field_description_above hidden_label gfield_visibility_visible' ><label class='gfield_label gfield_label_before_complex'  ><\/label>\n<div class='gfield_description' id='gfield_description_2_1'>If you already receive emails from us, you don&#8217;t need to complete this form<\/div>\n<div class='ginput_complex ginput_container no_prefix has_first_name no_middle_name has_last_name no_suffix gf_name_has_2 ginput_container_name' id='input_2_1'>\n<p>                            <span id='input_2_1_3_container' class='name_first' ><br \/>\n                                                    <label for='input_2_1_3' >First Name<\/label><br \/>\n                                                    <input type='text' name='input_1.3' id='input_2_1_3' value='' aria-label='First name'    aria-invalid=\"false\" \/><br \/>\n                                                <\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span id='input_2_1_6_container' class='name_last' ><br \/>\n                                                            <label for='input_2_1_6' >Last Name<\/label><br \/>\n                                                            <input type='text' name='input_1.6' id='input_2_1_6' value='' aria-label='Last name'    aria-invalid=\"false\" \/><br \/>\n                                                        <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li id='field_2_2'  class='gfield field_sublabel_above field_description_above gfield_visibility_visible' ><label class='gfield_label' for='input_2_2' >Email Address<\/label>\n<div class='ginput_container ginput_container_email'>\n                            <input name='input_2' id='input_2_2' type='text' value='' class='medium'     aria-invalid=\"false\" \/>\n                        <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li id='field_2_7'  class='gfield gform_hidden field_sublabel_above field_description_above gfield_visibility_visible' ><input name='input_7' id='input_2_7' type='hidden' class='gform_hidden'  aria-invalid=\"false\" value='Y' \/><\/li>\n<li id='field_2_3'  class='gfield field_sublabel_above field_description_above gfield_visibility_visible' ><label class='gfield_label' for='input_2_3' >CAPTCHA<\/label>\n<div id='input_2_3' class='ginput_container ginput_recaptcha' data-sitekey='6LeLAlgUAAAAAHFeA9blrAIko4k9eFdZu3qNGTPm'  data-theme='light' data-tabindex='0'  data-badge=''><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class='gform_footer top_label'> <input type='submit' class='btn' id='gform_submit_button_2' value='Yes, keep me updated! 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That\u2019s what Westminster\u2019s voting system did in December\u2019s election, according to a damning new analysis from the ERS. Of 32 million votes cast, a staggering 22.6 million people had their votes ignored, the ERS\u2019 new report, Voters Left Voiceless, on the results of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":4525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[5,405,52,422],"class_list":["post-4522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electoral-reform","tag-first-past-the-post","tag-ge2019","tag-single-transferable-vote","tag-voters-left-voiceless","feature-category-comment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electoral-reform.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}