Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 14th July 2016

This Government is committed to respecting the will of the British people as expressed in the 2011 referendum by keeping the First Past the Post system for elections to the House of Commons.

A referendum on electoral reform took place in the last Parliament. In that referendum, electors voted strongly against changing the system, with more than two-thirds voting against switching to the ‘Alternative Vote’ (AV) system and in favour of retaining First Past the Post. As a result it would be hard to justify ignoring the democratic verdict in the referendum, and equally hard to make a case for a further referendum on a more ambitious reform such as PR when the more modest AV proposal was defeated so resoundingly.

This Government’s manifesto committed to respecting the will of the British people as expressed in the 2011 referendum by keeping the First Past the Post system for elections to the House of Commons.

The First Past the Post voting system is well established and understood by voters and the ballot paper is easy to complete with voters putting a cross (X) by a single candidate. In each constituency, the candidate for whom more people voted than for any of the alternatives is elected.

First Past the Post provides a clear link between constituents and their representatives in Parliament. More often than not, it results in a government with a working majority in Parliament making decisive government possible. It allows the formation of a clear opposition that can provide an alternative to, and a check on, the government of the day.

The Government, therefore, has no plans to change the voting system for elections to the House of Commons.

Cabinet Office