Britain’s skewed election reinforces the case for voting reform. After 2029
The new government has more important things to deal with first
Among the questions prompted by Labour’s huge victory on July 4th is whether Britain’s electoral system needs overhauling. The party won 63% of the seats on only a third of the vote, prompting complaints from some smaller parties, and a few smarting Conservatives, that the result was unfair. The case for reforming the country’s first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, in which the candidate who wins the most votes in a constituency takes that seat, is becoming ever stronger. But it should not be a priority.
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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Lord, make us proportional—but not yet”
From the July 13th 2024 edition
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