Support growing for changes to voting system, say Lib Dems

SUPPORT for changes to the voting system to make it fairer is on the increase – and is welcome, say Liberal Democrats in Warrington

Recent press reports indicate that at least 100 Labour party branches and a third of Labour MPs now support a policy of proportional representation.
And at a recent meeting of Warrington Borough Council Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Bob Barr asked if the issue had been considered in Warrington.
Council leader Cllr Russ Bowden replied that Warrington South Constituency Labour Party had passed a motion in favour of proportional representation in Parliamentary elections.
It was important, he said, that people felt they were being properly represented.
Cllr Barr said a recent YouGov poll found that there is greater support among the public for proportional representation (42 per cent ) than for the current electoral system (33 per cent).
The poll also found that four in 10 Britons think the current system is unfair.
Cllr Barr added: “We are one of the few democracies that still use ‘first Past the Post’. In the UK where there has been constitutional reform in the devolved parliaments, fairer voting systems have been introduced. When people get a taste of change with a less unfair voting system they do not look back.
“It is interesting that those countries that foster more collaboration across levels of government have been rewarded with greater public trust for their response to the pandemic.”