BBC Verify has found that in the 2024 general election, there was a record-breaking gap between the share of votes won by the winning party and the share of Parliamentary seats won. This led to renewed calls for reform of the electoral system. Richard Tice of Reform UK highlighted the “injustice” his party faced, receiving millions of votes but only five seats in Parliament. Meanwhile, the Green Party’s co-leader Adrian Ramsay called for a “fairer system” to ensure that “every vote counts equally”.
The UK’s first-past-the-post system differs from those in other countries, leading to disproportionate results. Reform’s roughly four million votes equate to a 14% share of the total votes cast, but only 1% of all the seats in the House of Commons. Labour received 34% of total votes, but secured about 64% of the 650 available seats.
The Green Party also experienced a larger vote share than seat share, with 7% of the total vote, but just four MPs. The most disproportional election in British history prompted the Electoral Reform Society to argue for reform. However, voters may vote differently if the voting system becomes more proportional.
The UK held a national referendum on electoral reform in 2011, with the proposal to replace the first-past-the-post system with an “Alternative Vote” rejected by the public. The proposal aimed to produce more proportional results to the national share of votes cast. Despite the Liberal Democrats doing better under the current system, their leader, Sir Ed, stated on Friday morning that the UK’s political system remains “broken” and continues to support electoral reform
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