Electoral reform urged

Political think-tanks the New Politics Network and Charter 88 are urging the Government to reform the electoral system, claiming that the general election result can not be considered a popular endorsement.

Ron Bailey, co-director of Charter88 said: “That 64 per cent of those that chose to vote voted against the Government demonstrates the unfairness of our electoral system.”

Peter Facey, director of the New Politics Network added: “Labour have promised a review of the election system for Parliament, as they did in their 1997 and 2001 manifestos. They need to make this a priority before more people lose faith in British democracy, but they also need to make sure that this isn’t just an exercise carried out by civil servants in the ivory towers of Whitehall but that it reaches out to voters in Britain- the users and owners of our democracy.”