Thread by @electoralreform

Just out: Report on December’s general election reveals scale of tactical voting and voters ‘systematically ignored’ electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-an…

What we've found is a damning indictment of Westminster's rotten voting system.

Nearly one in three voters (32%) ‘held their nose’ and opted for a so-called lesser evil in December’s election, according to previously unreleased YouGov polling for the ERS

Over two thirds (71%) of votes, or 22.6 MILLION people's ballots, were ignored by the system: i.e. they weren’t decisive to the local result.

Let that sink in.

Of the 32 million votes cast, only 9.4 million votes (29% of the total) were ‘decisive’ in securing a candidate’s election.

In contrast, with a fair, proportional system like STV, those votes would be redistributed so people's voices were heard

Over a third (35%) of MPs were elected without a majority of support - 229 out of 650 failed to get above 50% support, even with all the tactical voting going on

This was a grossly warped election. The scale of disproportionality was a 'DV score' of 16, far higher than the 2017 election score of 9. (The average for countries with PR is between 5 and 8)

Around a third of seats in Scotland, as well as the South West, the South East and East of England were ‘unearned’ in proportional terms

Westminster’s voting system is leading to ‘absurd’ inequalities in representation. For example, in Scotland a substantial Conservative vote share (25%) yielded just six seats (10%), while over 90% of Scottish Labour votes went totally unrepresented

The ERS have modelled the results under different voting systems, including the Additional Member System (used for the Welsh Senedd and the Scottish Parliament) and the Single Transferable Vote (used for elections in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scottish locals)

It is no wonder trust in politics is at rock bottom – the vast majority of people’s votes are being systematically ignored by a voting system that is morally and politically bankrupt.

Westminster cannot go on like this – all parties must get behind reform of this broken system

It’s time Westminster caught up with the rest of the UK and ensured seats in parliament reflect how people actually want to vote.

No more ‘holding your nose’, ignored votes and warped results. Voters are tired of feeling voiceless, and it doesn’t have to be this way

This research exposes the scale of disenfranchisement that is happening under one-party-takes-all voting. But we can build a fairer politics, where everyone is heard and your vote counts no matter where you are. It’s time for PR and real democracy at Westminster

Here's the scale of decisive vs ignored votes in December, under Westminster's one-party-takes-all system:

If you want Parliament to reflect how we actually vote and to ensure people's voices are heard, join the movement for a better democracy today: electoral-reform.org.uk/join-the-movem…