Make My Vote Count

The campaign for voter choice and a more representative parliament

 Skip navigation

“Publish the Review … and let people have their say”

Make Votes Count campaigners gathered outside Parliament on Monday morning to call for the Government to finally release its review of electoral systems. The best photos from the event can be viewed on our flickr page. And for a report of what happened, read Josh's diary entry on our blog.

  

Publication of the review had been anticipated to be today, or sometime this week. But as yet the Ministry of Justice has been unable to confirm when the document might be out, despite a statement in Parliament by the Minister of State, Michael Wills, committing to a January date. 

Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner and supporter of MVC, who took part in the event, said: 

"As the publication of the review gets more and more delayed, you have to start wondering why. What is the justification for this postponement? Has the Government got something to hide? Is it waiting  for a a heavy news day, in the hope that this review will get buried?  When are voters going to see the review and be given a chance to have their say?"

Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of Make Votes Count, added:

“This event had originally been planned to launch our new campaign: ‘Democracy isn't deskbound.’ We wanted to highlight the review’s ‘deskbound’ nature – that it was conducted by civil servants and ministers from the comfort of their Whitehall desks, without ever actually going out and asking voters about their opinions or experiences. Yet now our calls for the public to be allowed a real say in how elections work has added urgency, given that the timetable for publishing the review seems to have slipped back even further.


Democracy isn't deskbound logo

A review of the electoral systems currently used in the UK has been a manifesto commitment from the Labour Government since 2001. The review has been underway since 2005 within the Department for Constitutional Affairs, now the Ministry of Justice, who are to publish it imminently. In oral and written answers to Parliament, the Government have confirmed that the review was a piece of “desk-based research”. The review had been due for publication before Christmas, but on 11 December the Government announced that they had “completed this review and will make it ready for publication in January 2008 when Parliament reconvenes.” Expectations were that the review would be published the week of 14 January. The MoJ is still not confirming the exact date.

Read more from MVC about Brown's constitutional reforms and the forthcoming review.

Posted: 11/01/08

<- Older Newer ->