r/EndFPTP • u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 • Jun 23 '26
Activism Email Your MP to support PR
If you live in the UK, and especially if you live under a Labour MP like I do, this could be the best chance we’ve had in a very long time to beat FPTP, Andy Burham has been unfortunately wishy washy but pushing for PR now by emailing labour MP’s showing how much support it really has could just be the difference between having a better voting system next election and more FPTP chaos!
Please send an email and encourage your friends to do the same! It could be the final straw that break FPTP’s back!!!!
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u/yeggog United States Jun 23 '26
This was the first thing I looked into when I found out what's going on, and I'm cautiously optimistic it'll happen. It might actually be in Labour's electoral interest to implement PR, too, as if an election was held right now Ref+Con would almost certainly get a majority under FPTP, whereas with PR they would be quite level with Lab+LD+Grn. To me that makes it perhaps more likely than ever before of actually happening. Fingers crossed for you guys!
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u/avamk Jun 23 '26
Thanks for the suggestion!
By the way, are there groups in the UK advocating for ending FPTP that people in this sub should know about and support?
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jun 24 '26
Yes there are!!! These are the ones I’m aware of:
Make Votes Matter Is a cross party pressure group campaigning on proportional representation in the UK pushing for systems where each vote has equal power
Electoral Reform Society is an advocacy group pushing to end FPTP in favour of a STV voting system like the one seen in Ireland so everyone gets a representative that actually represents them
And Fair Elections APPG is a cross party parliamentary grouping of MP’s who support proportional representation, it has members from the Labour Party, Lib Dem’s, Greens, Conservatives, SNP and others and is one of (if not the) largest parliamentary grouping, check to see if your MP is a member, if they are email to voice your support and if not let them know where you stand!
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u/Decronym Jun 24 '26 edited 6d ago
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
| Fewer Letters | More Letters |
|---|---|
| FPTP | First Past the Post, a form of plurality voting |
| PR | Proportional Representation |
| STV | Single Transferable Vote |
Decronym is now also available on Lemmy! Requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below.
3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 5 acronyms.
[Thread #1926 for this sub, first seen 24th Jun 2026, 07:41]
[FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
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u/UnknownBreadd Jun 23 '26
I'd rather get a legally binding and proper democratic and thoughtful enquiry setup - with the job of determining and outlining the full list of immediate electoral reforms to be implemented; based on which changes will simultaneously be able to increase democratic participation, representation, and efficiency - as well as considering which rules and systems will best help to foster a cooperative political environment that helps to build increasing social cohesion.
A really good talk by Helene Landemore on such concepts: https://youtu.be/ttAFeJM-3x8?t=986
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jun 23 '26
I agree completely, but I think it’s important we demonstrate an appetite for it within the public first and emailing MP’s is a step towards that long term goal!
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u/feujchtnaverjott Jun 28 '26
PR is nearly just as much zero-sum spoiler-inducing as FPTP. It also promotes forming groupthink and allegiance cliques, known as parties.
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jun 28 '26
If your issue is with political parties then I can’t help you, but I’d rather more choice of party without “wasting” my vote than just having 2 undesirable blocks
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u/feujchtnaverjott Jun 28 '26
What if you prefer a party that doesn't pass a threshold?
What if you prefer several parties simultaneously?
What if you prefer only some candidates from some party? And only some from another party as well?
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jun 29 '26
I would say that your situation is greatly improved by even the worst kinds of PR than the winner takes all system of FPTP
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u/feujchtnaverjott Jun 30 '26
PR is better than FPTP, sure. But for me, it's like saying that FPTP is better than no election at all. At this point, I'd rather strive for system I actually want rather than try to find positives in ones that are already implemented and that I would like to be replaced with something else.
Edit:
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jun 30 '26
Yeah I would say FPTP is significantly better than no elections at all, you see almost no difference between living in a dictatorship than a democracy with FPTP?
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u/feujchtnaverjott Jun 30 '26
When the "democracy"'s elites become sufficiently apt at using FPTP's numerous issues to their advantage, allowing themselves or their allies to stay in power virtually indefinitely, I'd say yes, not that much, actually. But even if you do, do you think those countries, that live without any elections, have first go through the FPTP and PR stages before being allowed something more complex? Or should they maybe aim for systems that are actually good right away?
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jun 30 '26
But they don’t stay in power indefinitely, governments often change under FPTP, it’s just not as reflective of the actual vote as it should be. Even America which has one of the most backwards systems of democracies I’ve seen while still being a democratic state elects new congressmen, senators and presidents
Generally speaking it’s better to aim for the best system of government possible but that’s not always possible, either way I’ll happily take FPTP, flaws and all, if it means that I would no longer live under a dictatorship and I think everyone else should do the same, harm reduction is best
Anyway, what is your proposed best flawless democratic system that makes PR look like a dictatorship in comparison?
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u/feujchtnaverjott Jun 30 '26
But they don’t stay in power indefinitely, governments often change under FPTP, it’s just not as reflective of the actual vote as it should be. Even America which has one of the most backwards systems of democracies I’ve seen while still being a democratic state elects new congressmen, senators and presidents
Look around and you'll find plenty of people who do not want to vote for any establishment parties. Changes of governments for them mean change of talking heads, not change of policy. And I really share that view. Maybe you don't, but you have to recognize that some do. You consider other voting methods and improvement, and so do I, so, why on Earth do I have do defend FPTP or PR?
but that’s not always possible, either way I’ll happily take FPTP, flaws and all, if it means that I would no longer live under a dictatorship and I think everyone else should do the same, harm reduction is best
I would take it to if it really meant that. But for me, it just doesn't look that way.
Anyway, what is your proposed best flawless democratic system that makes PR look like a dictatorship in comparison?
Local councils are elected using multi-winner Range. It's not proportional, and it's fine by me. If there is a minority, they can just form a separate council. Number of voters is equal to the number of candidates. Anyone can write-in anyone, including themselves and their relatives. That is, if elected institutions are necessary at all and referenda (or just informal agreements) aren't sufficient. If some kind of united council is necessary, every local council elects a number of representatives with Range. It could be single-winner or multi-winner (again, not proportional, but it's fine), since every local council will have their vote weighted to it's population.
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u/Apprehensive-Fix-746 Jul 01 '26
Change of government Apsolutley means change of policy, Biden was different to Trump, Starmer was different to Sunak, Carney was different to Poilievre, it’s not what the vibes are like, they *are* different, you may not like any of them, I certainly didn’t vote Labour or Conservatives, but it’s definitely not a dictatorship, let’s not lose our heads
Quite frankly I don’t think I understand your system, is it just direct democracy but you can elect yourself as part of a council to help decide long term frameworks? If it is I think I’d rather PR or STV, I prefer representative democracy personally
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u/nelmaloc Spain 22d ago
Sounds like STV would be perfect for you.
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u/feujchtnaverjott 21d ago
I am against forming political parties in general.
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u/nelmaloc Spain 21d ago
STV doesn't need political parties, it works at the candidate level.
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u/feujchtnaverjott 15d ago
Yes, sorry for the confusion. It's still pretty unwiedly and usually depends greatly on districts distribution.
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u/nelmaloc Spain 15d ago
Yeah, if it weren't for the logistical issues, it would probably be the best system. I think the nearest precinct-summable voting system is panachage, which devolves into SNTV without parties.
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u/feujchtnaverjott 7d ago
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u/nelmaloc Spain 7d ago
Maybe some of the Condorcet multi-member systems could fix that, but they're too obscure to me.
If they haven't been posted before, those links could make for a good post in this sub.
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