Fragmenting politics & the case for electoral reform

As the darker evenings set in, it remains a challenging time to be in government, and also to be in the Conservative Party.

Under our two-party system, the Tories would traditionally hope to regain voters as disillusion with the Labour government grows. But this is not happening. Smaller parties are benefitting from increasing support whilst the two largest parties are losing members and voters. Several high-profile Conservatives have recently defected to Reform.

Some recent polls suggest that an election held now would push the Conservatives into fourth place, with fewer than 50 seats, whilst Reform gained a huge majority. We are a long way from the next election – and as we know, much can happen before then. But for a party that’s been a major political force for nearly 200 years, this feels like an existential crisis.

As our politics fragments, it’s clear the two-party system is broken. People increasingly feel that politicians do not represent them. To rebuild trust in government and democracy itself, perhaps it’s time to think about how our voting system works.

For Westminster elections, we have a “first past the post” system, where the party winning more than half the seats in the House of Commons forms the next government. This has traditionally led to more stable governments with a Parliamentary majority to implement their legislative agendas.

But this doesn’t really reflect how people actually vote. At the 2024 general election, Labour won almost 64% of the seats with less than 34% of the vote, whilst Reform won less than 1% of the seats with 14% of the vote. Their votes were spread across many constituencies, where they came second or third, rather than being concentrated enough to win.

Under one of the more popular proportional systems – known as the single transferable vote – voters mark candidates in order of preference. If their first choice candidate is eliminated, their second preferences are counted and so on until candidates are elected.

Interestingly, the only party firmly opposed to electoral reform are the Conservatives. The Labour membership voted in favour at their 2022 party conference although the leadership were less keen. The Lib Dems have long campaigned for PR, and Reform UK and the Greens are also in favour. Our devolved Assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all use proportional voting systems.

This has never really been a priority for voters, and the UK rejected a version of electoral reform for Westminster in a 2011 referendum. But the political landscape has transformed since then, and trust in government has plummeted.

Under a proportional system, there is a higher chance of coalitions – and I know first-hand this can be a bruising process for junior partners in such governments! But it also requires parties to work together for the good of the country, rather than simply opposing one another or focusing on winning over one small section of the electorate.

How should Christians think about this? The Bible is not especially concerned with forms of government, but has a lot to say about what good government looks like. One example is King David’s prayer for his son Solomon in Psalm 72: “He will take pity on the weak and the needy / and save the needy from death. / He will rescue them from oppression and violence / for precious is their blood in his sight.”

God bestows authority on rulers, and expects them to work for the common good. They are to bring about justice and peace, and to protect the vulnerable, because every person is precious.

And whilst democracy isn’t mentioned in the Bible, I think we can make a strong Christian case for it – and for a more proportional voting system. If every person is made in God’s image, then everyone should have an equal vote at election time, and governments should always govern with consent. Governments are entrusted with power and in return should seek to build a just, fair and peaceful society.

No earthly system is perfect. But as our system fragments and people feel their votes don’t count, and their consent is being taken for granted, perhaps electoral reform is an idea whose time, finally, has come! I might cheekily suggest it could even spare the Conservative Party from oblivion…?

Christian MPs and political figures contribute as believers not party politicians. en does not endorse any one particular party.