DEBATE: Is current electoral system in UK ‘unfair’?

Make Votes Count In West Sussex (MVCIWS), which is pushing for a fairer voting system for public elections, has organised the informal meeting on Tuesday June 23 at the Friends’ Meeting House in Priory Road at 7pm.

Last month’s general election saw a number of political parties gain a tiny amount of Westminster seats compared to their national vote share.

For example UKIP have just one MP, but received almost four million votes across the UK, while the Green Party also have just one MP to show for their more than one million votes.

Some politicians and commentators have since called for a move to some form of proportional representation to replace the current first-past-the-post system.

Anthony Tuffin, MVCIWS’s non-party chair, said “The present ‘winner takes all’ voting system gives too much power to political parties who in effect decide who the MP will be in every safe seat.

“It is very clear that the general election result was unfair between the parties but I am more concerned that it was unfair for voters of all political views.

“Millions are not properly represented. It is not only UKIP, Liberal Democrat and Green Party voters who are under-represented.

“Conservative voters in northern urban areas and Labour voters in southern rural areas are also under-represented.

“For example, the Labour Party took all the seats in Wolverhampton and the Conservative Party took all the seats in West Sussex

“Most European democracies have more representative parliaments than the UK and Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London all use proportional systems for some of their elections.”

Members of all political parties and of none are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

What do you think of the current electoral system? Do you think it should be changed or stay as it is? Comment below, share our story, or email the newsdesk.

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