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01
Aug 2021
Campaigners in Harrogate call for change to 'unequal' voting system
Campaigners in Harrogate called for a change to the "unequal" UK voting system yesterday.
Members of the cross-party pressure group Make Votes Matter were at the town's war memorial handing out leaflets about proportional representation (PR) and speaking to passers-by.
In the 2019 general election, 54% of votes in North Yorkshire went to the Conservative Party yet they hold 7 out of the 8 seats in Parliament. Members of the group believe the political make-up of Westminster and local councils should better reflect the way people vote.
Elections for councillors and MPs in this country currently adopt the first-past-the-post system whereby the candidate in each constituency or ward who gets the most votes wins.
Harrogate resident Graham Dixon would like to see the current system replaced with a version of PR so that "every vote matters".
Scotland, Wales and London, for example, use a version of PR called mixed-member proportional representation whereby people get two votes: one to choose a representative and another for a party.
Many European countries such as the Netherlands and Spain, operate the party list proportional representation, whereby voters elect a group of MPs, rather than a single person.
Mr Dixon said:
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The Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency has been held by the Conservative Andrew Jones since 2010. Critics of the current system locally believe it makes a two-horse race between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats a near-certainty, with Labour and Green voters often forced to vote tactically.
Mr Dixon believes a PR system would mean the electorate wouldn't have to choose the "least worst option".
Harrogate Borough Council is set to be abolished to make way for a North Yorkshire mega council in 2023.
Mr Dixon said re-organisation presented an opportunity to bring in PR and enable all voters to have a stronger voice in what is a traditional Conservative heartland.
However, he accepts that the chances of it happening under the current government are unlikely.
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