FW: Making the case for Fair Votes - and winning!

[roger.c...@volteuropa.org]

From: Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform <in...@lder.org>
Sent: 01 May 2026 23:01
To: roger.c...@volteuropa.org
Subject: Making the case for Fair Votes - and winning!

 

 

 

Making the case for Fair Votes - and winning!  Winning in York Huge congratulations to York Liberal Democrats for a winning vote at the end of March in the City of York Council in favour of electoral reform. More than just a ‘win’: the Liberal Democrat  ‘Fair Votes for all’ motion, supporting PR and calling for a National Commission on Electoral Reform, was overwhelmingly carried (without amendment) - with unanimous support from all Liberal Democrat and Labour Councillors who were present for the vote!  The vote was: For 38, Against 2 (Conservatives), Abstention 1 (thought to be the Lord Mayor, in the Chair), Absences 6 - an impressive overall result! Our Councillors who spoke in support of the motion were Anne Hook (proposer), Emilie Knight (seconder) and Derek Wann.  Labour Councillors also spoke in favour. So: a great victory for Fair Votes. Let’s also recognise the vital cross-party support that came from our allies, Compass and Make Votes Matter.  Next: can your Council back Fair Votes, like our York colleagues have achieved? Let’s get that on the agenda once we have our new Councils and Councillors in place after May 7th! The winning York motion is here - there’s your proven template! Speaking out in the Lords  Thanks  to (Lord) Mark Pack, for making the case for preferential voting in the Lords, during a recent debate: read more here. Speaking out in Commons Select Committee The Representation of the People Bill completed its committee stage in April - alongside this, a select committee inquiry is also exploring and taking evidence about democracy and representation. Here’s what influential academics had to tell the committee, making the case that we are stuck with a broken electoral system - and setting out the change it needed. Winning in Virginia, USA Congratulations go to fellow campaigners,  Fair Vote USA - where the state of Virginia has taken a big step towards restoring democracy, by increasing ranked choice voting (preferential voting/STV to us!) for its state-level elections. Inspiring - change CAN happen. And a job opportunity! The party is looking for staffing support for working on the Representation of the People (aka Elections!) Bill. Details here!

 

 

What’s next? In Parliament The new Parliamentary session (King’s Speech) gets under way on May 13th - and the all-important Report Stage of the Representation of the People bill will be scheduled early in that new session - perhaps late May or into June.  At LDER we are working closely with our parliamentary team to support and maximise the Liberal Democrat impact and leadership. We’re looking to promote positive moves on political donations rules and dis/misinformation - and to call out the Government’s refusal to even review changing to a fair, proportional voting system. Beyond Parliament - Let’s Fix Politics! In sync with the Parliamentary bill and the undemocratic, unrepresentative May election results, LDER is readying to launch our local activists campaign toolkit. Let’s Fix Politics will have everything you need: survey and content (online and for Focuses) plus lots more! We’ll be in touch soon, so watch out for news. And.. Good luck to everyone for the May 7th elections. Another crucial opportunity to build our local bases - the foundations of our successes.  Join Us Not yet a member of LDER?  JOIN US HERE We are currently fundraising for our campaigns and would like to thank everyone who has already responded. It’s a huge boost for our efforts. Our 2026 programme - backing our MPs and getting the activists toolkit launched is our most ambitious ever. If you can, please make a donation to help us fund and resource everything we aim  to do.  I WANT TO DONATE TO LDER LDER Executive in...@lder.org

 

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