Under Burnham Will PR’s Time Finally Come?

2 min read26 min

Joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss whether proportional representation’s time might have finally come under a Burnham premiership, or whether it will be lost along the wayside once more, are the Labour MP Alex Sobel, a longtime supporter of ditching first-past-the-post, as well as Olly Glover, the Lib Dem MP for Didcot and Wantage, whose party has backed changing our voting system for decades.

Alongside them are Emma Harrison, CEO of the campaign group Make Votes Matter, and Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, to discuss whether public support is shifting in favour of reform and what the remaining barriers are.

Sobel, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Fair Elections, has tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, calling for a national commission on electoral reform. Signed by more than 70 of his fellow Labour MPs, the measure is supported by Burnham, who this week told The Observer that reforming the electoral system would be crucial to “change the political culture” and restore public trust in democracy.

Pro-reform campaigners argue that the current voting system is not built to handle the sort of multi-party politics that is emerging in the UK, and will lead to severely disproportionate results. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who the Manchester Mayor is seeking to challenge, won a 174-seat majority on less than 34 per cent of the vote at the 2024 general election.

The Rundown is presented by Alain Tolhurst, and is produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

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