Nearly 100 Labour MPs are backing a bid for a new national commission on electoral reform, presenting Prime Minister Andy Burnham with an immediate test of his commitment to changing the Westminster voting system. The move comes as new polling by YouGov indicates that a majority of MPs in the House of Commons now support a review of the first past the post system.
According to the poll, 53% of MPs surveyed support a review into first past the post, the current voting system used for UK general elections. An amendment to launch the commission has been signed by 185 MPs, including former ministers and supporters of the previous prime minister, Keir Starmer.
Amendment Tabled to Representation of the People Bill
The amendment, tabled by Labour MP Alex Sobel, has been attached to the representation of the people bill, which returns to parliament for its remaining stages on 2 September. The bill is designed to deliver manifesto commitments on votes at 16 and strengthen political donation rules against foreign interference, according to a Labour source.
The source said: “The representation of the people bill has been designed to deliver our manifesto commitments on votes at 16 and strengthen political donation rules to guard against foreign interference, and that’s what the government is prioritising. Andy remains strongly committed to electoral reform, and has indicated this is a matter for a future party manifesto, given a mandate would need to be secured for it.”
Number 10 said Burnham remained committed to electoral reform in Labour’s next manifesto but stopped short of backing the new commission. Burnham, a longtime advocate of electoral reform, endorsed the call for a national commission at last year’s Labour conference, saying as mayor of Greater Manchester that he backed “a manifesto commitment to a system of proportional representation to be introduced into Westminster elections in the next parliament.”
Cross-Party Support and Frontbench Signatories
The 98 Labour signatories to the amendment include influential backbenchers such as Luke Akehurst and Chris Curtis, leading Labour centrists. Overall, MPs from eight parties, as well as independents, have signed the amendment. Signatories also include recent ministers and ministerial aides, including energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, communities minister Florence Eshalomi, and the prime minister’s parliamentary private secretary and close ally Jo Platt.
However, newly appointed frontbench MPs may by convention withdraw support for backbench amendments once parliament returns. A new commission would not require legislation, meaning the amendment itself may end up out of scope of the bill. But MPs intend to use the amendment to signal to the prime minister the breadth of support for swifter reform.
A national commission could consider a range of proportional voting systems to replace first past the post, under which the winners of the most votes in each constituency are elected. Other systems are already used across the UK, including in the Scottish parliament, the Welsh parliament, and mayoral votes. In Scottish and Welsh elections, voters cast votes for a candidate and a party, allowing additional members to be elected from a list alongside constituency representatives. In the recent Greater Manchester mayoralty, voters were given a first and second choice.
MPs Urge Burnham to Act Within First 100 Days
Sobel said it was time for the prime minister to endorse the push, which has more signatories than any other amendment in parliament. “Now we know a majority of MPs back this proposal, including a majority of Labour MPs. I know the prime minister is committed to reforming our electoral system and I and all the MPs who signed this amendment want to work with him to set the UK on a road towards fair, modern general elections,” he said.
MPs told the Guardian that Burnham should announce the commission before the October budget. Rachel Blake, the former Treasury minister, said: “The PLP agrees with Andy Burnham that first past the post is broken, and that a national commission is the way to get a grip on it. The government should press ahead and launch this process within the prime minister’s first hundred days.”
Akehurst, a member of Labour’s governing national executive committee, said: “Parliament is catching up with the public, most of whom already support electoral reform. Andy Burnham has a good track record on proportional representation, and it’s now hugely popular across the Labour party. He should seize this opportunity.”
Labour MP Lizzi Collinge said first past the post “particularly devalues the votes of renters, young people and BAME people, and delivers parliaments that do not represent what most people voted for.” Another former Labour minister, Catherine Fookes, said first past the post “can’t cope with modern, multiparty politics. Andy Burnham has long talked about the need to move to a fair, proportional system. If he acts now by setting up a commission, he will find that most MPs support him from across parliament – and make good on his promise to rewire British politics.”
A sixth Labour MP, Mike Reader, said that the poll of MPs showed there had been “a sea change in support for PR across Labour and the public. Most MPs know it is the fair thing for the country, it’s just a matter of how we get there. We hope Andy Burnham will now stick to his guns.”
Historical Context and Campaign Group Pressure
Labour members at the party’s annual conference in 2022 had previously backed a move towards proportional representation, which Burnham called a “historic vote” and said would be a move towards “a country that works for everybody, where everyone’s vote counts”. Campaign groups said they hoped Burnham would seize the moment for reform while he had a workable parliamentary majority.
Make Votes Matter chief executive Emma Harrison said: “I’ve spoken alongside Andy in favour of proportional representation, I know he supports it – now he must show the public he deserves our trust.” The UK last rejected electoral reform in 2011 after a referendum was held to ask whether to change to an alternative vote system, where voters rank candidates in order of preference. The amendment and the poll signal a significant shift in parliamentary opinion, and MPs are now waiting to see whether Burnham will act within his first 100 days to launch the commission.
