Make Votes Matter: New East Herts group to lobby for electoral reform
A new group dedicated to electoral reform, Make Votes Matter (MVM), is being launched in East Herts.
A spokesman explained: "Make Votes Matter campaigns to highlight the weaknesses in the UK voting system which favours a 'winner takes all' outcome, marginalising minority parties even when the 'winner' does not have an overall majority of votes, and to promote the benefits of proportional representation under which everyone's vote counts.
"Both major parties continue to win General Elections with only a minority of the votes and have done so for many years, even winning with as little as 35% of the vote in 2005.
"Far from producing harmony and consensus, our politics are more divided than ever, not least because those who did not vote for the winning party are effectively unrepresented.
"MVM East Herts wants to foster cross-party co-operation in campaigning on the issue of proportional representation for both Westminster and local elections. People from all parties (or none!) believe a fair and decent society depends on each person's vote being of equal value at the ballot box."
In the December 2019 General Election, Conservative Julie Marson won the Hertford and Stortford seat with 56.1% (33,712) of the votes cast and a majority of 19,620.
Since it was established in 1983 after boundary changes, the constituency has returned a Tory at all 10 General Elections and the party's candidate has polled less than 50% of votes on just two occasions – in 2001, when Mrs Marson's predecessor Mark Prisk polled 44.7% after his first campaign, and in 1997 when Bowen Wells won with 44.1%.
Make Votes Matter (MVM) is a national, non-party organisation which has branches throughout the country promoting a change in the voting system to proportional representation, away from the current 'first past the post' system.
To attend the Make Votes Matter East Herts online launch meeting on March 18 at 8pm, email mvm.eastherts@gmail.com. For more information see www.makevotesmatter.org.uk.
