Following the announcement of a national commission on electoral reform, Charles White of the Campaign for Compulsory Voting responded alongside academics and think tanks, as reported by PA and GB News.
Charles White, from the Campaign for Compulsory Voting, said:
“This is welcome news from the Prime Minister, highlighting that Britain understands our electoral system is broken.
“However, this cannot just be about how people vote, but who votes. We need to address our country’s woeful turnout, and the only tried-and-tested solution in a democracy is the Australian model of compulsory voting”
Dr Nick Garland, of the think tank IPPR, said:
“The Prime Minister’s [announcement of a National Commission on Electoral Reform] is extremely welcome.
“First Past the Post is hopelessly unsuited to modern politics: it artificially suppresses choice and turnout, produces majority governments on small pluralities and low turnout, and no longer even seems to provide strong or stable government.
“Change is essential and the national commission is an opportunity for a debate about our democracy more widely.
“It can also be an opportunity to tackle our low and unequal turnout through an Australian-style compulsory voting system.
“It is also an opportunity to finally confront the big money increasingly distorting our politics.”
Dr Andrew Blick, professor of Politics and Contemporary History at Kings College London, said:
“The Prime Minister is absolutely right to say that we need to change how we do politics in this country.
“This national commission is a generational opportunity to change how Britain votes — to make it fairer and more representative.
“But any reform to the system we use to vote must include measures aimed at increasingelectoral turnout. If we simply change how voters cast their ballot instead of who casts their ballot, we risk failing to maximise the possible gains for a fairer society.”
Will Snell, Chief Executive of the Fairness Foundation, said:
”The PM is right to acknowledge that there is a fundamental issue of inequality in our electoral system._
”If you are poor, you’re less likely to vote and less likely to be the focus of politicians’ concerns._
”That’s why any major review of our electoral system cannot be limited to discussions around systems and processes, but must be about the importance of who votes.”
Polly Curtis, Director of Demos, said:
“We’re in a democratic emergency and we need an urgent upgrade of British democracy to build back legitimacy and create a political system capable of making hard decisions well. Proportional representation in a five-party system is obviously part of that. Compulsory voting might be part of that. Updating how Parliament works should be part of that.
“But any commission must also examine what democracy looks like between elections and take steps to build a more participatory, open democratic system, devolved to the places where people live and based on a more factual and deliberative media environment. The commission must involve major citizen deliberation to be truly legitimate.”
