Greens express profound disappointment over Labour Party failure to support fair voting system
The Green Party has criticised the Labour leadership for failing to ensure the party backed a vote to support proportional representation at its conference today [Monday 27 September]. [1]
Labour conference defeated the motion after it was sent to a card vote. This came after 150 Constituency Labour Parties submitted motions on the topic and more than 83% of members previously said they support the idea. [2]
Zack Polanski, Green Party spokesperson on Democracy and Citizen Engagement, said:
"This is a really disappointing decision by the Labour Party which shows a real lack of leadership and vision from the top of the party.
"Labour members overwhelmingly support electoral reform, yet Keir Starmer has done next to nothing to ensure that his party's delegates voted through a motion which could have revolutionised British politics and put an end to the Tory stranglehold on our failed democratic system.
"In the conference hall, speaker after speaker argued passionately for Labour to adopt proportional representation in its next manifesto, yet it still did not pass. Without proportional representation and electoral cooperation Labour has an impossible mountain to climb and the country faces another five years of chaos with the Conservatives.
"It is clear that British voters want to move on from the failure and division caused by the two-party system, and so it is extremely worrying to see Labour fail to grasp the need for a more cooperative and collaborative form of politics which will benefit everyone.
"The Green Party has always supported a system that translates votes fairly into seats. This is the very minimum we can expect from a country that calls itself a democracy. If people want to back a party that will consistently fight for this, then they know where to come."
[1] https://labourlist.org/2021/09/conference-rejects-motion-committing-labour-to-proportional-representation/
[2] https://labourlist.org/2021/07/exclusive-83-of-members-say-labour-should-back-proportional-representation/