There can be no Progressive Future without Proportional Representation

The United Kingdom is not a true democracy. While everyone over the age of 18 may have the right to vote, those votes are not of equal weight. They also only apply to the lower house of Parliament, the House of Commons. The House of Lords has not seen a single national election in its 700 year history. Alongside the necessity to deliver social justice and end the climate crisis, progressives have another great challenge, to build a British liberal democracy worthy of the name.

 

If you do not vote for the party that wins in your local constituency at a general election, your vote has had no impact on the final result. This means that the vote of people in marginal constituencies (assuming they vote for the parties which are in contention for the seat) carry a much larger electoral weight, than the votes of people in safe seats. Under the First Past The Post voting system, smaller parties, such as the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats are structurally disadvantaged under the system. Whereas establishment parties, such as the Conservatives, Labour and in Scotland, the Scottish National Party, hold a structural political advantage. This means that First Past The Post rarely reflects how people actually vote.

 

If we are to build a progressive country, we need to challenge the political establishment that allows for a corrupt voting system which effectively disenfranchises millions of people. This is a sham of democracy. It also undermines any potential for building a strong progressive consensus. First Past The Post leads to institutional conservatism as the parties which best preserve the status quo can cement their positions as parties of government, while smaller parties are unjustly denied fair representation. It also leads to tribalism between competing parties, petty point-scoring and ideological factionalism within parties. A system of Proportional Representation (PR) on the other hand would lead to the development of a more collegial, consensus-based politics.

 

The two best models of Proportional Representation are the Single Transferable Vote (STV) and the Additional Member System (AMS). STV is a form of Proportional Representation which supports preferential voting (the ranking of preferred candidates on the ballot paper) and would elect MPs in multi-member constituencies. This system is currently used for the devolved and local elections in Northern Ireland. It is used in the Scottish local elections and is used to elect the national Parliament of the Republic of Ireland. AMS is a hybrid voting system which combines First Past The Post constituencies with pure PR party lists. It is currently used to elect the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, as well as the London Assembly. Internationally, it is used to elect the Federal Parliament of Germany.

 

However, there is one significant roadblock which prevents the establishment of a more progressive and democratic society here in the UK. That is the opposition of the Labour Party to Proportional Representation. This position is unhelpful and harms the prospects of forging bonds of solidarity between fellow progressives. It is utterly shameful for the Labour Party to prioritise its own power and privilege above the interests of the people and of democracy. The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats must never tire of denouncing Labour's shameless defence of a voting system which continually facilitates the election of single party majority Tory governments on a minority of the popular vote.

 

Labour is the only social democratic party in the developed world which supports First Past The Post. Labour more often than not, would rather preserve a voting system which benefits them disproportionately and allows for unfettered Tory governments, than support a voting system which would allow for fairer representation for smaller progressive parties. In this respect there is a corrupt bargain between Labour and the Conservatives to deny power and representation to the smaller parties of the progressive left. Labour must realise that the voting system is at the heart of our broken political system and the social injustices it so often creates.

 

How can Labour with an easy conscience support a voting system which almost entirely disenfranchises its own electorate in the rural south of England, let alone the vast majority of Scotland? If Labour is to truly live up to its principles of equality, democracy and solidarity, it must embrace Proportional Representation. Those brave electoral reformers within the Labour Party are the true custodians of Labour's principles today. Most Labour members, 83%, back Proportional Representation. It is time for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Leadership to follow suit.

 

The major progressive parties, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens need to work together like never before in order to achieve electoral reform. At the very least, the progressive parties must vocally support anti-Tory tactical voting and embrace a common platform which amongst other issues would commit all the progressive parties to introducing Proportional Representation. Electoral pacts between progressive parties in a limited number of marginal Tory constituencies, should also be an option where appropriate.

 

There is a corruption at the heart of British politics. Its name is First Past The Post. Those parties who support this voting system do so against the real wishes of the people. Power and privilege in all its forms must be challenged. The political classes in both the Tories and Labour who continue to support this voting system must be called out for the corrupt sham of democracy which they support. The hypocrisy of so-called progressive Labour politicians who prevent Proportional Representation must be denounced.

 

The Greens, the Liberal Democrats and pro-PR Labour politicians must be in the vanguard of a reforming political movement to bring down the political corruption at the heart of the British establishment and to achieve real democracy. The feudalistic relic which is the House of Lords must be swept away and replaced with a democratic second chamber. The vote must be handed to all 16 and 17 year olds. But above all the life blood of our political institutional inequalities and political injustices, First Past The Post, must be abolished and replaced with a voting system worthy of the name. If you believe in democracy, support real democracy. Support Proportional Representation! Make Votes Matter!

The England Football Team Have Shown Our Tory Establishment For The Plastic Patriots They Truly Are

I think for the first time in my life, I am truly proud to be English. What is even more surprising is that it is football that has inspired this sense of English national pride in me. Like 31 million other people, I watched the England versus Italy game in the Final of Euro 2020 on Sunday. I was very disappointed to see England lose, but I am still very proud of the performance of England's Men's Football Team.

 

It is no secret to say that I am not a huge football fan, to put it mildly. What impressed me the most about this England Team was not just its skill on the pitch or the fact that it had reached its first major football international Final since 1966, but the honour and decency of England, its players and its manager. Gareth Southgate is a model of leadership who could put every senior British politician to shame. He is honest, humble and takes responsibility for his actions. He leads by example and as a result he has the respect and admiration from both players and fans alike. Then there are the players, at the start of every game they have taken a knee in solidarity with black communities and all the victims of racism. The solidarity the Team showed to support Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, following the racist abuse they received following the Final, is an example for everyone to follow. Jordan Henderson during the tournament has been unafraid to act as a proud ally for England's LGBT+ fans, which included him wearing rainbow pride shoe laces during the matches.

 

The England Team of 2021 are true role models who make England proud. They lead by example and are unwavering in their support for oppressed communities. Marcus Rashford, true to his working class roots, managed to persuade the government to continue to fund free school meals during the holidays last year. His campaigning alone has done much to improve the living standards of many of the poorest children in our country. I hope the England Team of 2021 will have inspired millions of boys and girls in England and around the world, regardless of their ethnicity, sexuality or class.

 

The England Team through its actions both on and off the pitch have revealed an England which is both liberal and progressive. It is an England of which I am deeply proud of. Nothing epitomises this more than the showing of public solidarity for Rashford, Sancho and Saka following the racist abuse which they received.

 

A greater contrast could not be drawn between the actions of the England Team and their anti-racist supporters and the current Conservative government. Priti Patel referred to taking the knee as “gesture politics”, which was condemned by Tyrone Mings. Boris Johnson refused to condemn people for booing players for taking the knee. Our right-wing nationalist Tory government has even tried to downplay the impact of racism within contemporary British society. They are attempting to whip up transphobia and deny fundamental rights to transgender people. And they continue to deny social justice to the poorest and most vulnerable people in our country.

 

For so long, this Tory government has been attempting to whip up English nationalism in order to wage its own version of a right-wing culture war. As the historian, David Olusoga has pointed out, the England Team "risk exposing the false dichotomy that underpins the right’s culture war"... the "concerted campaign to present race and class as binary opposites". However, the England Team has revealed a positive, progressive English identity. One which equally challenges the social injustices faced by working class people and the racial injustices faced by black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities. This progressive English identity has always existed, but up until recent days it has lacked the means of expression on the national stage.

 

This has revealed the current Tory political class for the plastic patriots which they are. They do not care for the real England or the real United Kingdom. They turn a blind eye to racial injustice, they undermine the rights of trans people and they try and pit pro-European communities against Brexit communities. They continue to alienate the people of Scotland and seem oblivious to the looming political and diplomatic crisis on the island of Ireland over the Northern Irish border.

 

“Red Wall” areas (those constituencies in the North of England and the Midlands, with large levels of deprivation, who have historically voted Labour) are often lazily stereotyped as culturally conservative. Polling evidence from YouGov however, has shown that “Red Wall” residents are no more conservative than the average UK population. In fact, on many important issues, they have a slight liberal leaning. The overwhelming majority of “Red Wall” residents support action against climate change and support children being taught about Britain's colonial history, including the impact of the slave trade. Both environmentalism and highlighting the racial injustice of Britain's colonial past are two issues which right-wing nationalists would brand as “woke”. These are issues which despite the lazy conservative stereotype are also important to English “Red Wall” communities.

 

My England is a progressive England, which believes that Black Lives Matter, that transgender people should not be vilified for being who they are, and that poor working class schoolchildren should not be left to starve during a pandemic. Real English and British patriots stand up against injustice. All the union flags in the world cannot disguise the fact that Boris Johnson and his government are no patriots.