Two-party politics is over Hi Roger, Though many more results are still to come in, it's already clear that this will be a tough few days for the Labour Party. Congratulations to all those elected and who campaigned - and commiserations to those who lost out. These election results aren’t just bad news for Labour - they prove what we, and most election experts, have been warning for months: that two party politics are well and truly over. There is no question that we’re now living in a multi-party age - and we need to update our voting system to reflect this. First Past the Post has reached breaking point. All it offers now is instability and unfair, random results. In council elections up and down England we’ve seen First Past the Post completely failing to represent voters - often handing a majority of seats to the far right on a minority of the vote. It will do the same in our general elections if no action is taken. That’s why we need the Government to urgently establish a National Commission on Electoral Reform. A commission can easily complete its work within a year - leaving Labour, and other parties, time to decide how to take forward its recommendation. There’s huge support in Parliament for a National Commission - as highlighted in an excellent article in the New Statesman on Thursday, which also sets out what we in Labour for a New Democracy have achieved in recent years. Thank you, as always, for helping to make this happen. Now, with our coordination - and in close collaboration with the APPG on Fair Elections - there's a strong caucus of pro-PR Labour MPs. When Parliament returns, we’ll be using opportunities like the Representation of the People Bill to push the Government to set up a National Commission - and stop British democracy from sleepwalking towards disaster. |