What's it about?
Our First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system of electing members of parliament does not distribute seats in the Commons fairly. Labour, who won 29% of the votes, have 258 seats. The Liberal Democrats, who won 23% of the votes have only 57 seats.
Why should I care?
FPTP creates ‘safe’ seats where one party always wins. This encourages the leadership to take the votes of such places for granted, targeting their policies at a few hundred thousand voters in often prosperous marginal seats. It was this practice that allowed the BNP to make gains in Barking, a town that has always voted Labour.
What can I do?
As part of the coalition between the Tories and the LibDems, there will be a referendum on a fairer voting system called Alternative Vote (AV). Although an improvement on FPTP, it does not distribute seats in proportion to the votes cast. Many of us believe that we need proportional representation and will be using the referendum debate to argue that everyone’s vote must count equally. Join us in the campaign for a truly fair voting system.www.takebackparliament.com
