Dear Cabinet Office.
I note your response to petition 168657 (“To make votes matter, adopt Proportional Representation for UK General Elections”), my petition for Proportional Representation (PR).
I am aware from Freedom of Information responses that the Government has neither made nor received any assessment of the continuing suitability of the UK’s electoral system since the 2010 election – meaning that you have not considered the issue since the most disproportionate election in British history, in May 2015.
It is therefore unsurprising that your response is inaccurate on a number of points...
Read MoreWhat 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.
Read MoreThank you to everyone who voted in the Democracy Awards 2016. We were delighted to be able to present many of them to the winners in person at our Christmas Party last week.
The awards are, of course, really just a fun way of recognising the work, inspiration and commitment of everyone who has taken action to help get real democracy over the last year. Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to all our nominees, voters, activists & supporters!
Read MoreThe world’s greatest democracy has chosen a new president. After many months and billions of dollars worth of campaigning, the American people participated in one of the biggest democratic processes in history. Over 100 million American voters made up their minds and decisively elected Donald Trump as their leader.
Except this didn’t happen. To watch the rolling new coverage you wouldn’t know it, but the candidate who received the most votes was Hillary Clinton - who ended up with almost three million more votes than Donald Trump.
Read MoreThe vast majority want real democracy. Take these two simple steps to help us turn demand outside Parliament into action inside Parliament!
Read MoreThe EU referendum has compounded the already urgent need for Proportional Representation in the UK. It isn't just that people felt their votes counted in a referendum that was free of the irrationalities of our normal, arbitrary voting system. It's that the outcome has shone light on the internal contradictions of a ‘representative democracy’ that is fundamentally unrepresentative.
Read MoreMake Votes Matter had an incredibly busy month for our team as we visited many of the political party conferences, making sure PR was high up on the agenda across the political spectrum. Read the blog to find out what happened...
Read MoreSign our open letter to the Theresa May & Chris Skidmore!
The boundaries of the constituencies are not the problem: The problem is our First Past the Post voting system.
In a multiparty democracy, it is simply not possible to draw the Parliamentary map in a way that makes all votes matter and that ensures that the House of Commons resembles the voters - as long as we have this primitive and perverse voting system.
Read MoreA personal blog from Make Votes Matter Co-Director and Facilitator Klina Jordan - all opinions expressed are personal and not necessarily the organisational positions of Make Votes Matter.
At Make Votes Matter we’re so focussed on the UK campaign for Proportional Representation that we don’t normally have the time (or money!) to travel. So I was delighted to be invited to Canada this summer to speak at an electoral reform event at the World Social Forum in Montréal. It seemed like a great opportunity to hear from leaders of other national campaigns for PR around the world, share information about Make Votes Matter and further build the Global Alliance for Real Democracy (GARD), which I started earlier this year.
Read MoreThe Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform (LCER) asked the Labour Leadership candidates about their views on the electoral system. See how they replied.
LCER is the Labour-based organisation making the Labour Party case for a more democratic and proportional electoral system. On 27 September, LCER and MVM are co-hosting a rally at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool: Time for Labour to embrace PR.
Read MoreIt may have been the EU referendum that triggered the recent political uncertainty but the roots of this chaos run much deeper. The only way to re-engage those who feel disillusioned with the political system is a proportional voting system where their voices are counted equally. The only way to ensure that government is in the interests of the whole country is a voting system in which every vote counts equally, rather than elections being decided in a few marginal constituencies. The only way to bridge the deep divides in our society is a system where all people have a say in how the country is run. We need proportional representation.
Read MoreMPs rejected Caroline’s bill 81-74, that means just 7 votes would’ve swung it, this is good news! 74 supporters is a massive improvement on last time, when 29 MPs voted for Jonathan Reynolds' PR Bill. This shows how MPs are paying attention to their constituents who feel that this is an important issue. Find out how your MP voted here.
Read MoreLast Friday, Labour List published an article by Labour MP John Spellar: The people have spoken. They don’t want electoral reform. In the context of a surging demand for Proportional Representation throughout UK, three Labour party members respond to Mr Spellar.
Read MoreLast Saturday, Make Votes Matter marked the one-year anniversary of the most disproportionate election in British history by holding our second major protest to call for Proportional Representation. It was accompanied by a really big announcement - read about how the day went, and what this means for the movement for real democracy in the UK.
Read MoreColumnist, author, commentator and political activist, Owen Jones, will speak at the Demo for Democracy on Saturday, May 7th - joining a cross-party line-up calling for Proportional Representation by 2021.
George Aylett (Labour) - who stood for in the 2015 General Election in South West Wiltshire - will also speak on the one-year anniversary of the most disproportionate election in British history.
Read MoreOur campaign is only possible because of the incredible generosity of our supporters and the amazing dedication of our volunteer activists. Help us get PR in the House of Commons by 2021!
Read MoreEveryone knows our voting system is a disaster, and polls consistently show an overwhelming majority of us are in favour of proportionality. What isn't always clear is what we - the voters - can do to get fair representation. With this in mind, here are three reasons why you need to come to the Demo...
Read MoreOur voting system, First Past the Post, creates division and disunity; leaves people unrepresented and politicians unaccountable; and fosters a type of governance which is manipulative, alienating, and spiteful.
Read MoreThe time is now for PR. Three quarters of the public want a more proportional system and there are eight pro-reform parties that have seats in Parliament. Even in Labour roughly half the MPs are now in favour of PR. A rainbow alliance from across the political spectrum is taking flight - together we will #MakeSeatsMatchVotes. Get involved and help us make votes matter!
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