Congratulations to Andy Burnham, our April 2022 Democracy Ally of the Month!

In the opening weeks of May, MVM supporters voted on a shortlist for Democracy Ally of the Month, a celebration of some of the contributions of MVM's Allies to the campaign for Equal Votes.

This month’s shortlist consisted of:

Andy Burnham: for calling for PR among other reforms in a 'Complete Rewiring' of the British political system in an interview for Sam Bright's "Fortress London"

Chichester City Council: for passing a motion calling on the government "to revisit the present First Past the Post electoral system and to replace it with a fairer system of proportional representation."
Get PR Done: for working with MVM on the 'Councils for PR' initiative
Layla Moran: for advocating for PR and other democratic reforms in light of the war in Ukraine

The Voting:

384 MVM supporters voted on the nominees during the last week of March. A candidate needed 50% of votes to win. If a candidate failed to receive 50% of votes, the least popular candidate was eliminated, and their votes redistributed according to their second preferences. This continued until one candidate has 50% of votes.

This voting system is essentially a form of the Alternative Vote. Unfortunately, a system of Proportional Representation cannot be used to elect a particular person, but AV ensures that the winning candidate achieves at least 50% of the vote.

Round 1:

Andy Burnham: 178

Layla Moran: 80

Get PR Done!: 69

Chichester City Council: 57

Chichester City Council is eliminated and their second preference votes redistributed

Round 2:

Andy Burnham: 178 + 23 = 201

Layla Moran: 80 + 13 = 93

Get PR Done!: 69 + 21 = 90

Andy Burnham reaches 50% of the vote and wins!