How to Replace 'First Past the Post': Electoral Reform in Action
When: Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: To be announced, Mile End
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Join the Mile End Institute to debate the future of British democracy – and vote at the end on the voting system that YOU prefer!
In 1918, Parliament came within hours of abolishing First Past the Post. The system only survived because the two Houses disagreed on the system that should replace it. With the Bill on the brink of collapse, the question was postponed – a reprieve that has lasted for 107 years.
In a recent YouGov poll, only 23% of respondents backed First Past the Post. But what might replace it? Different countries use a dizzying array of different systems, which are designed to do different things. Some are ‘proportional’, others ‘preferential’. Some would expand the range of parties, while others might shrink them. Do we want our electoral system to give us strong governments or strong parliaments? Do we want more or fewer regional parties, independent candidates, extremist parties or coalitions?
In this event, co-hosted with Unlock Democracy and the Electoral Reform Society, our expert panel will present different electoral systems as used in France, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. We will debate their strengths and weaknesses; what they can and can’t achieve; and how they work in practice.
Join us to debate the future of British democracy – and vote at the end on the system that YOU prefer!
Panel:
Jess Garland is Director of Research and Policy at the Electoral Reform Society and specialises in political participation and party organisation. She will be presenting the Single Transferable Vote system used in Ireland, and advocated by the ERS. In the UK, STV is also used to elect Scottish local councils and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Stephen Gethins is a Member of Parliament for the Scottish National Party and former Professor of Practice in International Relations at St Andrews University. He will present the Additional Member system used for the Scottish Parliament, which was designed to prevent majority governments but has been dominated by the SNP since 2011. Similar systems are also in use in Germany and New Zealand.
Stijn van Kessel is Professor of Comparative Politics at Queen Mary and specialises in the study of Euroscepticism, populism and the radical right. He will be presenting the open list system used in the Netherlands – among the most proportional in the world – in which 15 parties won seats at the 2023 general election. Many European countries use open list systems, with Switzerland and Luxembourg perhaps the ‘most open’,
Rainbow Murray is Professor of Politics at Queen Mary and an expert in elections and political representation. She will be presenting the two-stage French electoral system, and the challenges it faces in the age of Macron, Le Pen and a fracturing French political landscape. Two-stage or runoff elections are in wide use, especially for elections for individual office holders.
Robert Saunders (chair) is a historian of democracy at Queen Mary University of London and Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute. He has written extensively on the history of electoral reform and of proportional representation.