Do most people in the UK want electoral reform?

Yes. Polling consistently shows around 60% of the public support switching from First Past the Post to a form of proportional representation. Support is highest among Lib Dem and Green voters, but also a majority of Labour and Reform voters.

How distorted were the 2024 UK election results?

Significantly. Labour won 33.7% of the vote but 63% of seats (412). Reform UK won 14.3% of the vote but only 0.8% of seats (5). Under strict proportional representation, Labour would have had roughly 219 seats and Reform UK around 93.

Which parties support proportional representation?

The Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP and Plaid Cymru all formally back PR. Labour has a review underway but no firm commitment. The Conservatives and Reform UK oppose changing the voting system.

Does the UK already use proportional representation anywhere?

Yes. Scotland uses AMS (Additional Member System) for Holyrood elections. Wales uses AMS for Senedd elections. The London Assembly uses AMS. Northern Ireland uses STV for its Assembly. The UK already runs multiple electoral systems simultaneously.

Polling · Analysis · Reform

Electoral Reform in the UK

60% of the public back proportional representation. The 2024 election exposed FPTP’s deepest distortions yet. This is where the debate stands.

60%

Support PR

14.3%

Reform Vote Share

Reform Seats 2024

61%

Want Elected Lords

2024: Actual Seats vs Proportional Seats

Under strict proportional representation, the 2024 result would have looked radically different. 650 total seats distributed by vote share.

Sources: Electoral Commission 2024 results. Proportional seats calculated from national vote share × 650.

The Case for Reform

The 2024 general election delivered the most disproportionate result in British electoral history. Labour won 412 seats — a 174-seat majority — on just 33.7% of the vote. Reform UK, with 14.3% of the national vote (around 4 million votes), won 5 seats. The Liberal Democrats won more seats on fewer votes.

The arithmetic is stark: each Reform UK seat required 845,000 votes. Each Labour seat required around 23,600 votes. The system’s defenders argue it produces strong governments; critics argue it makes millions of votes effectively meaningless.

Polling by YouGov, Survation and the Electoral Reform Society consistently shows approximately 60% of British adults support moving to a proportional system — a number that has grown since the 2024 result.

Party Positions on Electoral Reform

Labour: Under review. Gordon Brown’s commission recommended PR. Keir Starmer has not committed. Some backbenchers openly back change.

Conservatives: Oppose any reform. FPTP has delivered Tory majorities. Kemi Badenoch has ruled out supporting PR.

Reform UK: Officially oppose reform. They benefit from FPTP criticism but fear PR could entrench a Lab-LD coalition permanently.

Lib Dems: Strongly back STV proportional representation. Electoral reform is a core party commitment since the party’s founding.

Greens: Support PR. Won 4 seats on 6.7% of the vote in 2024 — proportionally they would have had 43+ seats.

SNP: Back PR for Westminster elections. Already experience AMS at Holyrood. See FPTP as a structural disadvantage.

FPTP vs Proportional Representation: Key Differences

Feature	First Past the Post	Proportional Representation
Seats reflect votes?	No — majority of votes can be “wasted”	Yes — seats closely match vote shares
Government stability	Usually strong single-party majorities	Often coalition governments
Small parties	Severely disadvantaged	Represented fairly
Tactical voting	Common — voters often vote to stop a party	Less necessary
Local MP link	Every constituency has one MP	Varies by system (STV keeps local link)
Used in UK?	Westminster general elections	Scotland, Wales, London, NI devolved elections

Explore Electoral Reform Topics

Proportional Representation Explained

List PR, STV, AMS, d’Hondt — how PR systems work and which countries use them. UK regions already use PR.

The Mathematics of Unfairness

How 2024 and current polls expose FPTP’s deepest distortions. Reform 14.3% → 5 seats. The numbers explained.

Votes at 16: The Case For and Against

52% support lowering the voting age. Scotland and Wales already do it. What polling shows about 16-17 year-old political views.

House of Lords Reform

61% want an elected upper chamber. Labour’s partial reform plans. What happens to the Lords next.

UK Swing Calculator

Enter two poll readings and calculate the uniform swing between parties — and estimate seat changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the 2024 election compare to a proportional result?

Under strict PR (vote share × 650 seats), Labour would have received approximately 219 seats rather than 412. Reform UK would have had around 93 seats rather than 5. The Greens would have had over 43 seats rather than 4. The Liberal Democrats would have had roughly 78 seats — close to their actual 72, reflecting how their concentrated support partly works under FPTP.

Has the UK ever voted on changing its electoral system?

Yes — once. In May 2011, a referendum was held on switching to the Alternative Vote (AV) system. The No campaign won 67.9% to 32.1%. Critics note that AV is not proportional, and the result does not directly map onto support for PR.

Why does Scotland use a different voting system?

Scotland’s Holyrood Parliament uses AMS, a form of proportional representation. This was a deliberate design choice when devolution was established in 1999 — specifically to make it harder for any one party to dominate the parliament and to ensure a range of parties could win seats.

What is the Electoral Reform Society?

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) is the UK’s oldest campaigning organisation for voting system change. Founded in 1884, it advocates for proportional representation and publishes regular research on the disproportionality of FPTP results.