Make My Vote Count

The campaign for voter choice and a more representative parliament

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Election day message

If you have a vote today – and there are elections in many places across England and Wales - use it.  We will be closely following all the election counts and results; looking both for examples of democracy flourishing and democracy failing.  We will be paying special attention to what happens in London. You can follow our progress on election day, throughout Friday and over the weekend on this website and our blog.

 

Londoners' Votes Count
www.londonersvotescount.org.uk

 

Once every four years, all Londoners’ votes matter.   Contrary to a general or local election, "every vote counts". For the London Assembly, the system is straightforward and empowering. The make-up of the Assembly will reflect how all of London voted. People can affect the overall result no matter where in London they live.  That is because of the proportional voting system used. In addition, for the London Assembly (Londonwide ballot paper) your vote will in effect count twice: once for the party you support; and once against extremists. This is because your vote makes it harder for extremist parties to be elected; as it takes them one vote further away from reaching that 5% threshold. And for electing the Mayor, Londoners get the chance to express both their 1st and 2nd choices, rather than condense all their thinking down into a single candidate. So people can vote with their heart and with their head. Again, the advantage of the preferential system used for the mayoral election. 

 

Londoners' Votes Count has been a new MVC initiative to help with last-minute voter education and mobilisation efforts in London. The website explains in simple terms how to vote, how the different voting systems for the London elections work, and how Londoners can make the most of their vote.  The website also provides more detailed information about the voting systems used, and makes the connections between these elections and the current electoral reform debate about the Alternative Vote for the Commons, and also contains sections on 'the election and the Far Right' and 'mythbusting' which are particularly useful.

 

While many of us may have issues with the limited Supplementary Vote system used for the mayoral elections, and some may also prefer a different way of electing the London Assembly than the Additional Member System in place, much more important are the positives of these elections and voters' experiences of them.

 

ENGLISH AND WELSH LOCAL ELECTIONS:

As well as in London, the areas where elections are taking place are as follows:

The 36 Metropolitan Boroughs – one third of the seats, councillors elected top of the poll in 2004 up for re-election.
19 English unitary authorities electing by thirds – one third of the seats, councillors elected in 2004 up for re-election.
4 new English unitary authorities electing all-out – every seat to be fought.
22 Welsh unitary authorities electing all-out – every seat to be fought.
67 shire districts electing by thirds – one third of the seats, councillors elected in 2004 up for re-election except in a few cases where there were boundary changes in 2007 or 2006.
7 shire districts electing by halves – half the seats, councillors elected in 2004 up for re-election.
4 shire districts electing all-out – every seat to be fought because of boundary changes.

Real results in real elections are likely to make the case more eloquently for ‘making local votes count’ and for a fairer voting system for Westminster, than projections and punditry. This year is even more vital as:

(i) direct comparisons can be made with the experience of voters using different systems in London, and also with the STV local elections in Scotland last year.

(ii) another push at electoral reform for Welsh local government and increased pressure for England to look at the issue too could be on the cards.

Both MVC and ERS websites will feature number-crunching from London and across the UK, including some of the more distorted English local election FPTP results. You could pick up any of these points if they were true in your area:

1) wrong winners - the party that got most votes did not get the most seats. 
2) ‘electoral deserts’ - parties gain many votes but no seats at all. Not only are parties un-represented, but so are the electors who voted for them.
3) councils dominated by a single party with little opposition; making it difficult to hold the executive to account.
4) uncontested seats – no incentive for other parties to stand candidates so they don’t, thus depriving voters of any choice or say whatsoever. 

Remember that your comments should not just be focused on the parties - unfairness to parties means unfairness to the people who voted for them as well; with all the negative consequences for political participation, trust and satisfaction.

In addition, there are things some additional points to look out for / to make: In England outside of London it is almost the case of the ‘forgotten elections’ in many areas. Partly this has to do with people’s perceptions of the power and efficacy of local government. But the current First-Past-the-Post election system exacerbates the situation. Here are some questions which more attention should be given to:

(1) Will the lack of Conservative representation in northern metropolitan areas, despite a 10%-20% vote share, continue?

(2) Labour retreat: will the party be left with control of virtually no councils south of a line from the Severn to the Wash, outside London. What implications does this have for future party organisation? And what about the lack of representation for Labour voters in the south and south-west?

(3) Competitive elections: is there a difference – both in terms of turnout and more generally for the health of local democracy – between places where large numbers of seats are uncontested and control of the council is decided before a vote has even been cast and local authorities where party competition is much higher and voters have a genuine choice ?

(4) Are more people voting for the minor parties – especially BNP, UKIP and the Greens – and if so is that fairly translating into seats won?

(5) BNP: will intelligent targeting allow the party to win local council seats, often on a 25-35% vote share? Would a different voting system have made it much more difficult to achieve such a result, and tackled some of the underlying reasons – of discontent and disconnect with mainstream politics – why people feel attracted to the BNP in the first place?

Posted: 01/05/08

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