MVM - Totnes & South Devon

Fancy a depressing read on contemporary politics?

Compulsory voting alone won’t fix the UK's broken politics Simply insisting people vote in elections run by a system they rightly distrust will not improve British politics

"The problem is not, ‘How do we restore British voters’ trust in the way we are governed?’ It is, ‘How do we change the way we are governed so that it becomes trustworthy?’"

www.opendemocracy.net/en/compulsor...

In the past, the British public were reluctant to change the voting system.

This has shifted dramatically.

Now 60% of people want change, including supporters of all major parties. It's time for PR.

Watch our event with Sir John Curtice & @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social:
youtu.be/2JV6xO-vZ44

Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections

This is well worth a read...

www.gov.uk/government/p...

Not before time.

Voting age to be lowered to 16 in UK by next general election 16- and 17-year-olds will be given right as part of changes including easier voter registration

All well and good but the biggest fault in our democracy is our archaic electoral system which allows political parties to be elected even though two thirds of us vote against them. They accept Mayoral elections need to be elected fairly so why not Westminster?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

💥 The Government has just published its proposals for electoral reforms

💬 Statement from our Chair, @alexsobel.co.uk: "Today’s proposals are a welcome step towards cleaner, fairer and more trusted elections, but one critical issue remains unresolved: the voting system itself."

Voting age to be lowered to 16 in UK by next general election 16- and 17-year-olds will be given right to vote in all elections as part of changes including easier voter registration

Voting age to be lowered to 16 in UK by next general election www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

💥 Thank you to the hundreds of people who took part in our Democracy Action Weekend last week.

We reached well over 500,000 people with a message about Proportional Representation - and that's a very conservative estimate.

Watch our highlights video 📺 #PRnow

💯 "We can't have MPs elected anymore on a minority of the votes in a particular constituency. And we definitely cannot have governments elected on a minority of the votes across the country."

📢 @andyburnham.bsky.social speaking this weekend

🌹 #Labour4PR

❓If the government admits that First Past the Post is unsuitable for mayoral elections, why does it intend to keep it in place for general elections?

Thank you, Sarah Olney MP, for raising this issue in Parliament.

Whatever the election, FPTP is not fit for purpose. It must be replaced.

Don’t Hate the Politicians, Hate the Game - Make Votes Matter Our brilliant volunteer, Paul Tait, has taken a bold and original approach to explaining British politics — not through lectures or jargon, but through a

Are politicians stupid, selfish, corrupt and all the same? Or are they just following the rules of a bad game?

In a thought-provoking blog, MVM volunteer Paul Tait asks us to imagine the UK political system as a casino game. 👇

If only we held politicians to account as effectively as we do soft drink makers...

Who knows whether lobbying helps? But it certainly doesn't hinder. Get campaigning for more change everyone.

"Proportional Representation underpins everything that young people care about... They're not represented in the halls of power by the people who are supposed to be voices for them."

Young MVM Ambassador Livvy on why Gen Z is campaigning to fix our broken democracy 👇

Low trust in governments drives growing demand in electoral reform | National Centre for Social Research This blog examines public attitudes towards government and electoral reform, drawing on the latest British Social Attitudes.

"...the appetite for a change in the voting system that delivered Labour their commanding majority has never been higher. Turning the tide on these issues will be no mean feat, but one which Labour will need to tackle directly in their return to office."

✍️ Alex Scholes, @natcen.bsky.social

Government promises community control as ‘new dawn’ Bill introduced The legislation includes measures to boost the power of mayors and deliver a ‘radical reset of local government’.

Scrapping First Past the Post for Mayors is just the start.

“By committing to changing this, the Government has taken a step in the right direction, but FPTP is just as flawed when it comes to general elections." @alexsobel.co.uk, Chair of @appgfairelections.bsky.social

We couldn't agree more 💯

First Past the Post to Be Scrapped for English Mayoral Elections in Bid to Reverse Conservative ‘Gerrymandering' The move reverses changes made by the last Conservative Government, which was accused of seeking to "stitch up" elections in its own favour

Our CEO Emma Harrison is quoted in @bylinetimes.bsky.social on the decision to scrap FPTP for mayoral elections:

“This shows that change is possible. It’s time for Labour to take the next step to rebuild trust at the heart of our politics by giving everyone an equal vote in Westminster too.”

Labour to scrap first past the post for mayoral and PCC elections - LabourList The Labour government has set out plans to scrap the first past the post voting system for mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections in England.

"It’s hugely welcome that the Govt has listened to Labour MPs & mayors on this issue... I hope they will similarly embrace a discussion about making our general elections fair, representative & fit for the 21st century"

🌹 @andrewranger-mp.bsky.social on plans to scrap First Past the Post for mayors

It's really good news that Labour will return us to preferential voting for Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners - but it isn't yet quite clear when this will happen.

Wales was the biggest casualty of First Past the Post in 2024 Alberto Smith, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Make Votes Matter What sort of democracy do we want to live in? When people go to the polls in Wales, their vote should count. But in 2024, as in ...

"Across the UK we have five parties regularly polling above 10%, and in Wales, Plaid Cymru’s strength makes this a six-party system.

But across both polities, no one party can come close to claiming to represent Britain - or Wales."

Our article in @nation.cymru 👇
nation.cymru/opinion/wale...

Thank you @westcountryvoices.bsky.social for your support.

YouTube video by Femi Most UK Votes Don't Count and it's costing lives!

Our FPTP voting system is killing people.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
@makevotesmatter.bsky.social

Wales was the biggest casualty of First Past the Post in 2024 Alberto Smith, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Make Votes Matter What sort of democracy do we want to live in? When people go to the polls in Wales, their vote should count. But in 2024, as in ...

When people go to the polls in Wales, their vote should count. But in 2024, as in every general election under First Past the Post, millions were left unheard ✍️ Alberto Smith, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Make Votes Matter

We were glad to be part of it all.

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who took part in our Democracy Action Weekend.

To the hundreds of activists who joined in-person events, the many more people who showed their support online, and all those who donated to our fundraiser and made this possible.

You give us hope 💪

Northern Proportional Representation Advocates Hold ‘Rally for Real Democracy’ in Manchester On Saturday 5 July, supporters of Make Votes Matter, the cross-party campaign for proportional representation, braved the rain to hold a ‘Rally for Real Democracy’ in Manchester’s St Peter’s Square in...

www.wigantoday.net/community/no...
#Wigan #PRnow

To mark the anniversary of most disproportional general election result in our history, we are (virtually ) flying the GET PR DONE banner above Westminster.
#getPRdone
#PRNow
#MakeVotesMatter
#ProportionalRepresentation

Thank you @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social for pointing out the glaring unfairness of our voting system - and the loss of trust in democracy that it leads to.

The vast majority of the world's successful democracies have rejected First Past the Post. The UK must follow.

#PRnow