Agenda item

Notice of Motion by Councillor D. Moore under Standing Order No. 6

Making Votes Matter in Local Elections

 

Council notes that:

 

1. The electoral system used for local elections in England and Wales, First Past the Post (FPTP), is not a fair system, because it means that votes do not have equal weight and many votes are wasted. Exeter is no exception.

 

2.  The alternative to FPTP is a system of Proportional Representation (PR), where votes cast for parties translates more or less directly into seats won. There are many variants of PR. The Single Transferable Vote System (STV) variant of PR is already in use for local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland. With this system, voters rank candidates in order of preference and those who receive the most backing (including second and subsequent choices) are elected to serve in multi-member wards.

 

3.  Exeter City Council (in common with most other district councils) already has multi-member wards and thus the transfer to a proportional system would be easier than if the wards were single-member.

 

4.  The introduction of PR for local elections in Scotland has led to an increase in turn-out, which was 47% at the last elections held in 2017. In contrast turn-out in the Exeter City Council election in 2019 was 36%. This suggests that the improved representation offered by PR encourages greater engagement in local democracy.

 

5. That PR should be introduced as the voting system in any further Government devolution, and reorganisation of local government, in order to improve democratic participation and accountability in local government.

 

Council believes:

 

There should be a move to the use of a system of proportional representation for local elections as soon as is practicably possible as this would boost turn-out and elect a council which is more representative of the range of political views of Exeter’s residents.

 

This Council resolves:

 

  1. To call upon Her Majesty’s Government to
    1. commit to changing electoral law to permit such a move.
    2. Introduce such a system of voting in any reforms to local government presented to Parliament.

 

  1. Write to Exeter’s two MPs to ask them to call for a change to electoral law to permit such a system and promote the matter for debate in Parliament.

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

Councillor D. Moore, seconded by Councillor K. Mitchell, moved a Notice of Motion in the following terms:-

 

“Making Votes Matter in Local Elections

 

Council notes that:

 

1. The electoral system used for local elections in England and Wales, First Past the Post (FPTP), is not a fair system, because it means that votes do not have equal weight and many votes are wasted. Exeter is no exception.

 

2.  The alternative to FPTP is a system of Proportional Representation (PR), where votes cast for parties translates more or less directly into seats won. There are many variants of PR. The Single Transferable Vote System (STV) variant of PR is already in use for local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland. With this system, voters rank candidates in order of preference and those who receive the most backing (including second and subsequent choices) are elected to serve in multi-member wards.

 

3.  Exeter City Council (in common with most other district councils) already has multi-member wards and thus the transfer to a proportional system would be easier than if the wards were single-member.

 

4.  The introduction of PR for local elections in Scotland has led to an increase in turn-out, which was 47% at the last elections held in 2017. In contrast turn-out in the Exeter City Council election in 2019 was 36%. This suggests that the improved representation offered by PR encourages greater engagement in local democracy.

 

5. That PR should be introduced as the voting system in any further Government devolution, and reorganisation of local government, in order to improve democratic participation and accountability in local government.

 

Council believes:

 

There should be a move to the use of a system of proportional representation for local elections as soon as is practicably possible as this would boost turn-out and elect a council which is more representative of the range of political views of Exeter’s residents.

 

This Council resolves:

 

  1. To call upon Her Majesty’s Government to
    1. commit to changing electoral law to permit such a move.
    2. Introduce such a system of voting in any reforms to local government presented to Parliament.

 

  1. Write to Exeter’s two MPs to ask them to call for a change to electoral law to permit such a system and promote the matter for debate in Parliament.”

 

In presenting her motion, Councillor D. Moore made the following points:-

 

·         the motion was being presented in light of Government plans to introduce a Bill on further devolution and the re-organisation of local government which might result in larger local authorities covering a wider area. It was therefore now crucial to explain that votes should match seats and that a fairer voting system would enable people to feel that every vote matters;

·         electoral reform was not only in the interest of fairness but also in furthering a progressive agenda and for encouraging political participation;

·         at least 80% of the 35 nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had used some sort of Proportional Representation (PR), a percentage that was growing over time as countries become more democratic;

·         countries with PR Elections had shown a higher turnout, had lower income inequalities, higher social expenditure and a fairer distribution of public goods. In addition, they took more effective action on climate change, possessed better long term decision making, a stronger gender and black and Asian minority ethnic representation in politics and showed an improved satisfaction with Governance and democratic institutions;

·         the growing campaign for electoral reform in the Labour Party is welcome. PR has a strong backing, not only amongst Labour members, but also amongst Labour voters. Polling had shown that at least three quarters of labour voters wanted the party to commit to PR. 54 constituency labour parties had already passed motions backing PR;

·         whilst in May 2019, Labour had won 9 out of 14 seats in the Council elections based on just a third of the city’s vote, the parties and individuals within the progressive group, had received three seats based on slightly under a third of the city’s vote which was not an accurate reflection of the way people in Exeter vote;

·         Members from all parties are urged to support reform of the electoral system for all votes to count and that Government be asked to introduce this fairer voting system as part of any measures to re-organise local government, demonstrating to the people of Exeter that the Council seeks a fair electoral system.

 

The Leader stated that his Group would not be supporting the Motion but confirmed that the issue was a matter of discussion and consultation within his party. As there would not be a General Election for four years, he did not see any merit in writing to the Government or Exeter’s two MP’s.

 

The Opposition Leader advised that his Group would not be supporting the Motion and that it was not part of his party’s policy to support PR.

 

Councillor K. Mitchell, in seconding the Motion, made the following points:-

 

·         he had long been an advocate of PR at all levels of Government, including local government as it was far fairer than the current system and would enable people to have an equal say and an equal vote across the whole country and not just in certain areas;

·         PR would improve local links and, where there were systems in place, it would help develop greater diversity regarding individuals elected to councils and assemblies;

·         the only way in which the system could be changed was to ensure that as many political parties as possible were on board and committed to change;

·         the Make Votes Matter cross party campaign was seeking this reform through the Good Systems Agreement; and

·         he hoped that the debate would continue and he was committed to working for a fairer system and a fairer country.

 

Councillor D. Moore in responding, stated that the alternative vote system had been put forward as an alternative to First Past The Post but was not a system of proportional representation. Moreover, she suggested that a referendum was not the best way of considering the best voting system and suggested that a Citizens’ Assembly would be the best means of establishing a deliberative process to inform reform of the electoral system.

 

Councillor D. Moore invited Members to work across party lines to campaign together on this issue. She congratulated Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand Prime Minister, who had been elected under a proportional system.

 

The Notice of Motion was put to the vote and LOST.