The reality of single-party rule under First Past the Post often looks nothing like 'strong government'. Behind the scenes, these governments can be paralysed by internal battles, faction against faction, each fighting for control of the party machine.

Thankfully, we have independent boundary commissions in the UK, so American style Gerrymandering can't happen here. But the weaknesses in First Past the Post that allow things like Prop 50 to happen are just as present.

Voters in the Canadian province of Yukon have voted against First Past the Post, but the incoming government is planning on ignoring the result. Wherever First Past the post is still in use - people are campaigning to scrap it.

Every country saddled with First Past the Post has campaigners striving to scrap it. Our friends at @fairvote.bsky.social found that on November 4th, over 430,000 voters across 14 cities and counties in the United States used ranked choice voting in their elections.

An aspect of American state house elections that always seems bizarre is how many seats are so uncompetitive that they don't bother with elections anymore. At the last full Mississippi State House election, a majority of the seats had a single candidate. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Mi...

California’s voters have passed Proposition 50, a ballot measure to replace the state’s independent redistricting commission with maps which are intentionally designed to favour the Democratic Party. buff.ly/dLYvPQv

Following their recent elections, the extremely proportional Dutch voting system has been in the news, but how did they end up adopting this system?

It shouldn’t take an expert to translate public opinion into seats. But the brutal truth is that in our system, votes don’t add up to representation, they get filtered, distorted and wasted along the way. buff.ly/o2dsPBo

It’s a striking poll for a few reasons, the Greens have their highest poll share ever on 16% and four parties sit within three percentage points from each other.

Saying that Scotland’s parliament is designed to stop a majority is like saying flat shoes are designed to stop you being tall. The shoes don’t subtract inches; they just don’t add them like heels do.

Closed lists limit voter choice — and that’s not what Wales deserves. The new cross-party STV Bill would put power back where it belongs: with voters.

You shouldn't need a PhD in psephology to work out what parliament would look like based on a poll - but without a fancy statistical model, you would just be guessing to say what this would produce.

The 1911 Parliament Act limited the House of Lords' powers to prevent gridlock. Even with an elected chamber, maintaining a similar balance ensures that government can function smoothly while benefiting from robust scrutiny. buff.ly/39XSf6c

MPs and Peers use the Single Transferable Vote for their own internal elections, yet deny it to the public.

Gridlock in parliament isn't caused by elected chambers. It's about how powers are allocated and how disagreements are managed. With proper safeguards, an elected second chamber can enhance democracy without causing legislative paralysis.

Citizens’ Assemblies give ordinary people a seat at the table to debate evidence and reach fair conclusions. buff.ly/3jZxsgf

The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is already used in local elections in Scotland and Northern Ireland, resulting in more voters getting a councillor they voted for. buff.ly/o8xEA1f

When politics feels divided, Citizens’ Assemblies bring people together. Participants hear evidence, share experiences and find common ground. That’s how democracy should work. #DeliberativeDemocracy buff.ly/3jZxsgf

First Past the Post doesn’t care about the policies of the parties that it gives a boost to. buff.ly/WCr5Gdv

Citizens’ Assemblies let people from all walks of life learn, deliberate and decide together. They build trust and lead to more thoughtful decisions. It’s time they became a regular part of how we do democracy.

It should never be normal for a single party to control a country without winning the confidence of most voters. Yet that’s exactly what First Past the Post allows. buff.ly/WCr5Gdv

Rather than constantly trying to find the sweet spot of support within a demographic that will see them catapulted into power with the least support – politicians should have to try and win all our votes. buff.ly/O9nuXxj

The United Party won the most votes in the 1948 South Africa Election. But, due to First Past the Post, the National Party won the most MPs - and set about creating the Apartheid system buff.ly/ZRPccBZ

From keeping a chauffeur-driven Mercedes waiting for four hours, to now complaining about their speeding fines. This sounds more like antics from a private member's club, rather than part of our parliament. buff.ly/niNnvUb

As Prof Rob Ford says, "it is a perilously short distance from 'just enough everywhere' and a landslide majority, to 'not enough anywhere' and electoral oblivion" - is this really the best way to govern a country?

When it comes to how we elect our parliament, our choices shouldn’t be driven by who benefits today. Electoral systems last longer than governments. buff.ly/DyyvrRN

Sometimes people talk about possible electoral outcomes of different voting systems as the pros and cons. To me, that's like the voting system choice equivalent of gerrymandering. We should be looking at what system best reflects the breadth of views across the country. Better democracy is the aim.

One group of politicians shouldn't get to decide who can and can't sit in our parliament - the public should have their say. buff.ly/N9uYxZQ

Nobody can predict the next election. But you can choose a system that behaves predictably – one that translates votes into seats in a consistent, transparent way.

Keeping a system that ensures parliament doesn’t reflect the country’s wishes is a political choice. buff.ly/jXOoZKP

A majority in Parliament may look impressive on paper, but it can conceal a fragile reality.

With so many parties in play, First Past the Post is an agent of chaos at the heart of our political system buff.ly/L9Celua

If the referee can be leaned on by one team, trust in the game evaporates. The Electoral Commission must return to being independent. buff.ly/KdNBguT

The former government's Elections Act made the body that polices fair play in elections consider the priorities of the politicians it oversees. buff.ly/KdNBguT

It takes an act of parliament to strip a peer of their plush seat in the House of Lords - we need an elected second chamber, so peers can be held accountable by the public. buff.ly/PjuwuuI

Members of the House of Lords should be held accountable by the public. We need an elected second chamber so we can decide who sits in parliament.

The current government’s strategy statement on forthcoming electoral changes does not commit to restoring the Commission’s independence. This is a missed opportunity. buff.ly/KdNBguT

A new report from Spotlight on Corruption highlighted the impact of ending Electoral Commission independence on the UK’s democratic standing.

We were at Liberal Democrat conference to meet MPs and their staff - here is our report

We have a "a chaotic political environment where small shifts in the level and distribution of parties’ support can have a massive impact on the outcome." due to First Past the Post - why not just reflect how we actually vote? buff.ly/L9Celua

This should really be a given, especially for a Government pledging to clean up politics and remedy some of the worst behaviour of the past Governments. It's also one of those things that isn't necessarily a problem today, but it certainly could be under a future authoritarian Government.

The government must restore the independence of the Electoral Commission

Radio 4's The Reunion spoke to people involved in the 1999 attempt to reform the House of Lords. We can't wait another quarter of a century for something that should have happened a hundred years ago.

Of the six by-elections that took place on 11 September, in five of them the winning candidate took their place in a council chamber with the support of fewer than one-third of the voters.

Nobody is suggesting the UK should copy America's Senate - there are lots of ways to create an elected second chamber without it ending in gridlock. buff.ly/YRe0nS3

The Single Transferable Vote is a form of proportional representation where you vote for individual candidates rather than parties. That means independent candidates stand a real chance of winning election.

Does the setting shape the spirit of our democratic conversations?

How should the government address the distortions of our political system? MPs in the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Elections have set out one approach, a National Commission on Electoral Reform

When councillors can win their seats on less than a third of the vote, their party can seize the town hall on a similar share. It's about time England and Wales followed Scotland and adopted a fair, proportional voting system.

The Commission is a proposal for a time-limited independent review, informed by the evidence of experts and the values of the voting public. electoral-reform.org.uk/mps-suggest-...