Proportional Representation supporters hold street stall in Milton Keynes for card-writing campaign
On Saturday, 21st February, local members of the Proportional Representation (PR) advocacy group Make Votes Matter held a street stall outside Milton Keynes railway station as part of the group’s Love Democracy campaign meant to coincide with Valentine’s Day.
Members of MVM Bedford and Milton Keynes sought to discuss PR with local residents and to encourage them to send cards to Members of Parliament who have publicly and actively supported reforming Westminster’s voting system with messages thanking them for their work.
MVM believes that the current Parliament is the most PR-friendly in its history. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections is the largest such group in its history. Its membership includes Buckinghamshire MPs Chris Curtis (Milton Keynes North, Labour) and Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham, Lib Dem).
This stall was held following the announcement of the Government’s own Representation of the People Bill on 12th February and in anticipation of its second reading expected on 2nd March.
The proposed legislation includes lowering the voting age to sixteen and measures to improve election campaign finance regulation and voter registration. MVM believes that it would be pertinent to include either PR for Westminster or the launch of a National Commission on its voting system.
MVM argues that the First Past the Post (FPTP) system currently used to elect MPs leaves millions unrepresented and creates a disconnect between public opinion and the composition of the House of Commons.
They further argue that the traditional defence of FPTP as a system that delivers stable single-party governments no longer holds sways as seen following the 2010 and 2017 general elections, risking greater instability as voters increasingly support parties other than Labour and the Conservatives.