Ed Davey urges Andy Burnham to 'be brave'
Sir Ed Davey has called on the incoming prime minister Andy Burnham to implement proportional representation (PR) prior to the next general election, advocating for this change without holding a referendum first.
The Liberal Democrat leader expressed his party's willingness to collaborate with Burnham on reforming the voting system. He stated that if Burnham was "serious about changing the way we do politics" then "my door is open".
Davey warned that if Labour delayed electoral reform until after the next election, it might be "too late," during a speech.
Burnham, who is expected to be confirmed as Labour leader on Friday and become prime minister on Monday, previously remarked last year,
"There is nothing more unstoppable than an idea whose time has come, and PR's time has come."
However, during his by-election campaign last month, Burnham indicated he would not immediately change the voting system if he became prime minister.
Last week, in a Reddit forum, he said he would "seek to persuade my own party" to include a commitment to electoral reform in Labour's next election manifesto.
He wrote:
"I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving."
The UK currently employs a variety of voting systems, with only the Westminster Parliament and local authorities in England and Wales continuing to use the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.
Context on voting systems
Information about Andy Burnham's policies, the impact of the winner-takes-all voting system on Labour and the Conservatives, and an explanation of how first-past-the-post voting works have been discussed in related reports.
Sir Ed Davey's speech to the Institute for Government
In a speech delivered to the Institute for Government (IfG) think tank, Sir Ed emphasized that electoral reform is not merely a "nerdy obsession of political anoraks" but a crucial step toward "solving the problems that ordinary people face every day."
He stated,
"Our broken political system is the reason why so much in our country isn't working the way it should, and why it never seems to get fixed."
Addressing the incoming Labour prime minister, he urged:
"Be bold, be brave. Fix the broken electoral system by introducing proportional representation. To give everyone an equal vote and an equal voice in our democracy, and make sure no politician or political party can afford to take them for granted. And do it now. Don't wait until it is too late. Don't wait until after the next election – when you might be powerless to do anything about it."
'Reset politics'
During a question and answer session following his speech, Sir Ed argued that holding a referendum on changing the voting system was unnecessary because "Labour's manifesto talked about resetting politics, and this is a way to reset politics."
He pointed out that the Conservative Party "had changed the electoral system in a number of places without asking anybody," likely referring to the introduction of FPTP elections for mayors and police and crime commissioners, a move Labour recently reversed in Greater Manchester.
The Liberal Democrats and their predecessor, the Liberal Party, have campaigned for proportional representation for over 100 years.
In 2011, voters decisively rejected changing the voting system in a referendum, which had been secured by the Liberal Democrats during their coalition with David Cameron's Conservatives.
Sir Ed, who was part of that government, clarified at the IfG event that the 2011 referendum concerned switching to the Alternative Vote system, which he said was "absolutely not" proportional representation.
Burnham became a supporter of PR after his election as Greater Manchester mayor under the Supplementary Vote system. Although not fully proportional, this system required him to make an effort to "knock on every door" and persuade Green and Liberal Democrat voters to support him with their second vote.
