Ed Davey wants to 'work with government' on electoral reform

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Political reporter Jennifer McKiernan stated that Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey expressed his party’s willingness to cooperate with the government to transition away from the current electoral system. The Liberal Democrats have been ardent supporters of electoral reform and advocate for a form of proportional representation to more accurately mirror the public’s voting preferences.

While Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer initially endorsed electoral reform during his bid for the Labour leadership in 2020, he has since reneged on this commitment and omitted it from the party’s election manifesto last year. Sir Ed expressed hope that the presence of a Reform UK majority might prompt the Prime Minister to reconsider discarding the existing “first-past-the-post” method.

During an interview with Nick Robinson on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, Sir Ed articulated his desire to eliminate first-past-the-post elections for the UK Parliament. He emphasized that under the current system, the candidate with the most votes in a constituency becomes an MP, while proportional representation would allocate MPs based on the overall number of votes a party receives nationwide. Sir Ed did not specify a preferred form of proportional representation but affirmed the Liberal Democrats’ unwavering commitment to electoral reform.

Despite Sir Keir’s prior assurances to Labour Party members regarding electoral reform, no such pledge was included in the party’s victorious 2024 manifesto. Furthermore, the government did not support a recent Lib Dem initiative for reform, with Downing Street indicating there are no intentions to revise the voting system. This decision has raised concerns that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage could potentially ascend to the role of Prime Minister through FPTP, underscoring the urgent need for a reevaluation of the current electoral structure

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