Trade union calls for commission into electoral reform at Bournemouth conference
A leading Labour-affiliated trade union has called for an independent commission into electoral reform
A leading Labour-affiliated trade union has called for an independent commission into electoral reform amid support for proportional representation at elections.
The annual conference of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) agreed a motion rejecting the first past the post system (FPTP).
Supporters of electoral reform said the decision by delegates at the conference in Bournemouth marked a “historic shift” for the union, which becomes the eighth Labour-affiliated union to make electoral reform its official policy.
The motion said first past the post was producing unrepresentative results and was at crisis point.
Ed Baldwin, a CWU regional political officer, told delegates: “First past the post no longer reflects those we represent and is producing results that do not match the will of the people.
“The Labour Government has already accepted it is broken by scrapping it for mayoral elections. If it distorts democracy there, then it distorts democracy at Westminster too.”
Nancy Platts, co-ordinator of the Politics For The Many campaign, said: “It is clear that we cannot continue with a voting system that ignores millions of votes and is producing more and more chaotic results that do not represent the way people have voted.
“CWU’s vote demonstrates how support for proportional representation is now the overwhelming position of the Labour-affiliated unions.
“This marks a sea change in the Labour movement. The party’s politicians at Westminster now need to listen to these collective voices and act to make electoral reform a reality.”