Ministry of Justice
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Governance of Britain UK voting systems review
The Government has today published a review of voting systems which examines the experiences of the different forms of elections introduced over the last ten years in the UK.
This major review assesses elections to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly, and those to the European Parliament, London Assembly and London Mayor, as well as some international experiences.
Michael Wills, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, said:
"The sweeping programme of constitutional reform which we have put in place since 1997 has brought with it a wealth of experience of differing voting systems.
"This extensive and rigorous review examines those systems, assesses the advantages and disadvantages, and also looks at other methods of election. It is an important contribution to the ongoing debate about voting systems.
"We hope this review will inform that ongoing debate but we do so in the firm belief that the current voting system for UK general elections works well, and that any future change would require the consent of the British people in a referendum. Voting systems must not become a focus of partisan action but need to endure for many years."
The Review of Voting Systems: the experience of new voting systems in the United Kingdom since 1997 looks at the way the new voting systems have affected the proportional allocation of seats, voters' choice, voter turnout rates, political campaigning, social representation and administration.
The new systems include the additional member system used in the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament and the Greater London Assembly; the single transferable vote used in the Northern Ireland Assembly; the closed party list system used for the European Parliament; and the supplementary vote used for the London Mayoral elections.
The Review finds that:
* there is no clear causal relationship between proportional representation and a range of desirable outcomes;
* the new voting systems have led to more proportional allocation of seats in devolved administrations, which has resulted in more parties being represented in the elected bodies and given rise to a tendency towards coalition government;
* it has not been the experience of the UK that voter participation has risen with the introduction of proportional systems, although there is some evidence that proportional systems have a marginally higher turnout internationally;
* positive action policies have a greater impact on increasing women's representation than more proportional voting systems;
* there has been little change to party campaigning, with continued emphasis on winning constituency seats;
* changes to voting systems require significant research, planning and testing to ensure voters understand the system and can use their vote.
Notes to editors
1. Review of Voting Systems: the experience of new voting systems in the United Kingdom since 1997 is available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/voting-systems-review.htm
2. A copy of the WMS is available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement240108a.htm
3. The terms of reference of the Review were to provide a summary of available evidence from:
* Voting systems used in the UK for the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament; the Northern Ireland Assembly; the European Parliament; the Greater London Assembly; and the London Mayoral elections;
* International experiences of voting systems, which mirror those used in the UK;
* The findings of the Report of the Independent Commission on the Voting system (Jenkins Commission, 1998);
* The report of the Independent Commission on Proportional Representation report (ICPR, 2004) established at the Constitution Unit at University College of London;
* Those parts of the Power Inquiry, an independent inquiry established in 2004 and chaired by Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, that considered issues around electoral systems; and
* The findings of the Richard Commission in Wales and the Arbuthnott Commission in Scotland.
4. The Additional Member System (AMS) is used for elections to the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the London Assembly. The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is used for elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Closed Party List system is used for the European Parliamentary elections and the Supplementary Vote for electing the London Mayor.
5. This review also included the experiences of some relevant international examples that have comparable voting systems, including New Zealand (AMS, also known as the Mixed Member Proportional system), the Republic of Ireland (STV) and the Netherlands (a list system).
ENDS
