It's been a tumultuous year in politics, both in the UK and the rest of the world, and sometimes we've despaired about the horrific damage that the lack of real democracy wreaks.
There is a strong correlation between Proportional Representation and all sorts of positive socio-economic indicators like lower income inequality, greater economic growth, higher ratings on the UN Human Development Index, lower chance of going to war (First Past the Post is the single strongest indicator of whether a democracy will go to war), better representation of women and minorities, and better stewardship of the environment that sustains us all.
While such major global players as Australia, Canada, France, the UK and the USA have winner-takes-all-voting systems, the tyranny of oppositional, unrepresentative politics will continue, with decisions being taken in the interests of the minority, for the short term only.
What gives us hope is that we've seen such positive progress in the UK campaign to Make Votes Matter this year - and in the parallel campaigns for PR around the world. We've had a very busy and impactful year and expect next year to be even better. To get a glimpse of why we're so hopeful, take a look at our short 2016 highlights video - and remember these featured items are just a selection of all the great things we've achieved together as a community.
Thank you for everything you do to help us win a fair voting system. Together we will get PR - the time is now!
So enjoy a merry Christmas and look forward to a democratic New Year!
With hope and determination,
Everyone at Make Votes Matter
PS If you want to get the 2017 campaign off to a flying start, click here to donate. If you want to get more involved in the campaign next year, in whatever capacity, drop a note to team@makevotesmatter.org.uk to let us know. Finally, please help us get the petition for PR over 100,000 signatures by asking organisations and groups you know to share it too :)