Thread by @getprdone

PR AND LOCAL ELECTIONS: A SUBJECT NEVER MENTIONED (rant incoming!)
So the media today (5 May) and Saturday will be filled with reportage about how voters in various parts of England have made their “democratic choice” in selecting who should lead their local government. 1/8

Meanwhile, commentators are falling all over themselves to suggest what the results will mean for the next general election when voters across the UK will also be making their "democratic choice". 2/8

It’s all BALONEY. For elections to be fair and democratic, it is pretty elementary --- DUH! --- that ALL votes must count the same. In local elections, they don’t. Often the results are even more undemocratic than what happens in general elections… if that is possible. 3/8

Take what happens in elections to Manchester City Council. There were no local elections in Manchester yesterday, but here are the statistics from the 2022 election. At present, Labour holds 92 of the council’s 96 seats on just 66% of the vote. 4/8

Same as last time: “Since its formation, Manchester City Council has continuously been under Labour control. In the most recent council election in 2021, Labour won 31 of the 32 seats up for election with 65.4% of the vote, and the Green Party won the other seat with 11.5%. 5/8

of the vote across the borough. The Conservatives received 10.8% of the vote and the Liberal Democrats won 10.4% of the vote but neither party won any seats.”
The unfairness is obvious. Votes cast in local elections do NOT match council seats won. 6/8 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Manc…

Switch to another area of England and it's not hard to find the inequitable tilt of FPTP favours the Tories or the Libs. This unfairness (which does not occur in Scotland where local elections are decided by proportional representation) can only be remedied by Westminster. 7/8

First #PR for elections to Westminster and then for local elections, it is time to MAKE VOTES MATTER and GET PR DONE! 8/8 @Councils4PR @getprdone #GetPRDone councilsforpr.org.uk