Why has electoral reform support reached record high in UK?
A total of 60% of the population now want to change the voting system 'to allow for smaller parties to get a fairer share of MPs', according to the British Social Attitudes survey.
This change is backed by a majority of supporters of all parties and by those with low levels of trust and confidence in government.
The figure represents a staggering increase of 33% since 2011, when less than a third of people wanted to change the system.
READ MORE: Here's what we learned from John Curtice's new polling report
A report – compiled by Professor John Curtice, Alex Scholes and Aisha Chabdu and entitled Britain's Democracy: A Health Check – shows how just 36% of people are now happy with the first past the post voting system staying as it is.
The authors concluded voters seemed to feel the choice between Labour and the Tories at the General Election was 'a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee'.
For the first time, more than half of people (53%) say they would prefer a coalition running the UK than a one-party government (41%).
It comes after the Labour Party managed to secure a huge majority of MPs in the Commons last July despite winning just over a third of the vote.
Willie Sullivan, senior director of campaigns for the Electoral Reform Society, said the General Election in 2024 was the 'most disproportional ever' and clearly showed people are now voting in a multi-party way.
He said: 'Public support to change the electoral system has hit a record 60%, according to the latest British Social Attitudes survey, showing a clear majority want to ditch Westminster's distorting First Past the Post system.
'This surge in support comes after last year's general election was the most disproportional ever, meaning the current Parliament least represents how the whole country voted of any in history.
'The general election and this year's local elections also showed that people are clearly voting in a multi-party way, and we now need a proportional voting system that accurately represents how they are voting with the MPs they get at Westminster.
'Having a fair and accurate voting system is a crucial step to restoring trust in politics, which the latest BSA results also alarmingly found has slumped to a record low.'
The below graph shows how people's attitudes towards the voting system have changed, with a dramatic shift forming over the past five years.
(Image: British Social Attitudes Survey) Despite Labour clinching this landslide victory, the survey suggests there has only been a slight decline since 2023 in Labour supporters' backing for electoral reform, with 55% still in favour of change.
The survey also showed just 12% trust governments to put the interests of the nation above those of their own party 'just about always or most of the time' – which is a record low.
Only 19% think the system of governing Britain needs little or no improvement.
In its conclusion, the report says the survey has 'left some significant questions hanging over the continued health of Britain's traditional system of democracy' with the authors suggesting many voters felt the choice between Labour and the Tories was like 'a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee'.
It said: 'What the election does appear to have done is to provide an opportunity for some voters to express their discontent by voting for parties that posed an unprecedentedly strong challenge to the country's traditional, limited panoply of political parties.
'Those with low levels of trust and confidence were markedly more likely to vote for Reform or the Greens, thereby helping to push the share of the vote won by the Conservatives and Labour combined to a record low.
'For many, the choice between the two parties of government looked too much like a choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.'
READ MORE: Corbyn-led party would attract 10 per cent of vote, poll says
The traditional demographic division between middle and working-class voters that had long provided the foundation of support for the Conservatives and Labour respectively showed 'no signs of re-emerging', the report said, with voters age and educational background mattering much more.
The authors warned that while the debate on electoral reform is important, people should not jump to conclusions that changing the voting system would restore faith in government.
'We should be wary of anticipating that changing the electoral system would prove sufficient to restore voters' faith in how they are being governed,' the report said.
'Ultimately, they are looking for more effective government than they feel they have enjoyed in recent years, not least in respect of the economy and public services. The key question ultimately facing Britain's democracy is whether it can deliver.'
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