This online talk focused on electoral reform and the need for a voting system based on proportional representation (PR). This is an issue connected to central political questions on the kind of democracy we want to have, the kind of party we want Labour to be, and the kind of society we want to live in. The voting system has a profound effect on all three of these questions. There is mounting evidence showing that PR – not First Past the Post (FPTP) – is an integral part of transforming Britain into a more egalitarian society.

Simon Lydiard, a member of the Executive Committee of SME4Labour and Chair of Vauxhall Constituency Labour Party, chaired the panel. As a way of introducing the topic, he discussed the debate within the Labour Party around the issue of electoral reform. He also emphasised the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for the economy and the important work that SME4Labour has been carrying out as a campaign and discussion platform.

Lydiard then introduced Laura Parker from Labour Campaign for a New Democracy and highlighted some of the important work she has done in the Labour Party.

Laura Parker began her talk by thanking SME4Labour for the invitation and introduced the Labour Campaign for a New Democracy. She said that the campaign started last summer, and at the moment, 11 principal organisations are supporting it. Some of these organisations are Labour-only organisations. She listed them in the following order:

• Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform

• Open Labour

• Labour for European Future

• Chartists

• Politics for the Many

• Compass Labour (part of Compass organisation)

• Unlock Labour (part of Unlock Democracy)

• Get PR Done

• Electoral Reform Society

• Another Europe is Possible

• Make Votes Matter

Parker said this coalition's very simple aim is to get Labour to pass a policy on the PR system by September 2021. They are not trying to persuade the party to adopt a particular form of PR and are quite keen not to get involved in the debate around STVs, percentages and thresholds. There is a need for an inclusive process for discussing what system we should adopt. They aim to get the conference to make an in-principle commitment to PR and then put this commitment into the manifesto. Parker emphasised they are not campaigning for a referendum.

Parker mentioned that 193 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) passed a motion supporting a PR system. The aim is to get these CLPs to work towards the conference to adopt the motion on PR. There is an attempt to engage the trade unions to get them to support PR. She mentioned that three smaller trade unions have a pro-PR policy. Other trade unions are discussing PR because of motions proposed within their structures. Some of the bigger unions have a pro-FPTP policy, and she is not very hopeful they will change.

She also stated that some people in the Labour Party are pro-PR and argued that Sir Keir Starmer’s position is still open and he may be persuadable based on his leadership campaign pledges. She noted that a UK constitutional convention for a new democratic settlement could include PR and that Labour voters and MPs are increasingly in favour. The last poll among Labour members suggested 76% supported PR. All this adds to her optimism that the conference will pass a motion on PR this year.

Mike Sutton, Chair of Woodbridge Branch of the Suffolk Coastal CLP, was then introduced by Lydiard, who mentioned Sutton's past roles and achievements.

Sutton began by thanking for the invitation and gave a brief history of the UK's voting system. He noted that University MPs were elected using a form of PR until 1945. He outlined major issues with the current voting system:

• Seats don't match votes.

• Since 1950, no governing party has achieved more than 50% of the vote.

• Since 1970, none has secured more than 45%.

• In 5 of 12 elections since 1970, the governing party had less than 40% of the vote.

Sutton reflected that since he began voting in 1970, his vote has never counted – either in a safe Labour seat (Liverpool) or a safe Conservative one (Suffolk Coastal).

He argued that FPTP creates dishonesty in voting and focuses on only 40–50 constituencies, similar to swing states in the US. Small parties suffer greatly, as shown by:

• UKIP: 4 million votes in 2015, 1 seat

• SNP: 1.5 million votes, 56 seats

• Lib Dems vs DUP: same number of MPs, but Lib Dems had far more votes

Sutton also argued that FPTP favours right-wing agendas, citing the US. It leads to apathy: in the 1950s, turnout was ~80%; from the 1960s–1990s, 70–80%; but since 2000, never above 70%.

He posed the question: What would happen with PR?

• More honest politics

• People vote for the party they believe in

• Government elected by a wider electorate

• Better representation of women and ethnic minorities

• Fewer extremist governments

• Fairer campaigns

He countered common myths about PR, saying coalitions aren't inherently bad and that PR governments can be stable. He ended by pointing to online resources for learning about PR systems worldwide.

Lydiard then opened the floor to questions and facilitated discussion between the speakers and audience.

Speakers' biographies

Simon Lydiard
Simon Lydiard is a member of the Executive Committee of SME4Labour and Chair of Vauxhall Constituency Labour Party. He is a former Senior Civil Servant and now works as a consultant on public sector procurement and government relations. In the early 1990s he led the Labour Group on Bath City Council and was one of the original signatories of Charter 88 which called for constitutional and electoral reform.

Laura Parker
Laura Parker is a former Civil Servant in the UK and European Commission and CEO of children’s rights organisations who spent many years living and working outside the UK – including in SE Asia and Eastern Europe – before going to work in the Labour Party as Private Secretary to Jeremy Corbyn. She then worked as National Coordinator for Momentum (2017–2019). Since March, she has been locked down in northern Italy with her Italian husband where she is working for the Labour Campaign for a New Democracy and is also active in Another Europe Is Possible and Labour for a European Future.

Mike Sutton
Mike Sutton is a lifelong Labour supporter. Current Chair of Woodbridge (Suffolk) Branch of Suffolk Coastal CLP. Chair of Finance on Local Town Council (run by Alliance of Labour, Lib Dem and Green). Former teacher, headteacher, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools, Consultant Educational Advisor (UK and USA). Now retired but working on more projects and interests than ever before, including Advisor to Cooperative Schools Association and Director of Woodbridge Riverside Trust.