Make My Vote Count

The campaign for voter choice and a more representative parliament

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Government spins its own review

The Government is in danger of treating voters with contempt by shutting out parlimentary and public debate on the review of electoral systems it has published today. It has been a manifesto commitment twice (2001 and 2005), taken several years to complete, but yet the government seems determined to downplay what is actually in the report and close down opportunities for the public to have their say. 

"The Review is intended to inform the ongoing debate about the voting system in Westminster but does not make any recommendations."  That was Michael Wills said in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament.  Yet at the same time his Department put out a press release which seemed to pre-judge that "ongoing debate" by claiming that with"firm belief" there was no need to change the system for electing MPs.  The press release goes on to remove the nuances from the review's findings and spin a message more in tune with the Government's own political purposes.

In contrast to the assurances over the past months that the review would give scope for continuing the debate or keeping the process open, there was nothing mentioned about that today.  The Minister did not give an oral statement in the House. Nor, when asked by Simon Hughes in Business Questions about having a parliamentary debate on the review, did Harriet Harman commit to any time being granted by the Government for a debate. Instead she virtually threw it back in Simon's face and said if he wanted a debate it should come out of opposition time.  

Voting matters and so do the systems used. But there been no attempt by the Government to ask voters about their experiences and opinions ("the review was a desk-based study"). So Michael Wills claim in the press release that the "current voting system for UK general elections works well" is hard to substantiate - either from polling data or from the review itself. The voting system may be working well for him and other MPs, but not necessarily for voters, from the voters' perspective.

Together we need to push Gordon Brown and the Ministry of Justice to take this debate beyond Westminster and the confines of parties and politicians who have a vested interest in the status quo.  Join us in showing that "democracy isn't deskbound"  www.makevotescount.org.uk . 

Posted: 24/01/08

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