On Saturday 13 December in Chester city centre, supporters of Make Votes Matter (MVM) urged constituents of Chester North and Neston to send Christmas cards to their MP Samantha Dixon, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Building Safety, Fire and Local Growth, a junior position within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) whose portfolio encompasses elections and democracy. The cards bear messages imploring her to support proportional representation (PR) more actively through her position.
A cross-party organisation, MVM argues that the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system currently used for Westminster elections leaves millions feeling unrepresented, and increases the risk of political volatility as voters seek options beyond the two major parties.
PR is gaining popularity
The British Social Attitudes survey found that 60% of Britons favour electoral reform and 53% favour coalition governments. Democratic reform legislation such as Sarah Olney’s Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill and the government’s own English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill are progressing through Parliament. The MHCLG, of which Dixon is a minister, is the government department responsible for the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, legislation which proposes to reinstitute Supplementary Voting (SV) for metro mayoral elections among other reforms. With this and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections now the largest ever such group, campaigners believe that now is the time for change.
Dixon could do more to press for PR
According to MVM Chief Executive Emma Harrison, Samantha Dixon has shown real commitment to improving our democratic processes. “From championing votes at 16 to engaging with campaigners on automated voter registration, she clearly recognises that much more needs to be done to rebuild trust in our democracy.”
Harrison went on to express her disappointment “that – like her predecessor [Rushanara Ali] – the minister continues to ignore the elephant in the room. People have stopped voting because, in many areas, their vote simply does not count. Our outdated voting system, first-past-the-post, distorts election results and hands disproportionate power to a single party.” She concluded that “Samantha Dixon – and the Labour government – could leave a lasting, positive legacy by introducing proportional representation and the forthcoming Elections Bill is the opportunity to do it.”
Chester street stall promotes PR in a festive way
MVM held a street stall near Chester Cathedral to encourage Chester North and Neston constituents to send Christmas cards to Dixon. More than a hundred cards containing expressions of support for PR and pleas for Dixon to support electoral reform more proactively were collected by MVM and will be delivered to her soon.
The street stall also displayed literature and information with residents of, and visitors to, the city and to promote a petition calling on Dixon to support PR, which at present has garnered about 28,000 signatures. The petition, supported by Action Network, can be found via MVM’s own website. As part of their year-round campaigning, MVM supporters also promoted a petition calling for all national broadcasters to host a televised debate on PR.
Supporters sang versions of Christmas songs including ‘White Christmas’, ‘Winter Wonderland’, ‘Santa Clause is Coming to Town’ and ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’ featuring modified pro-PR lyrics.
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