‘UK must change electoral system to PR

‘The UK needs a reset and a more democratic voting system might just do it’ (Image: Getty)Don’t people realise that by the twelve-year mark of the 79-97 Conservative and 97-10 Labour periods of government, both parties were only on to their second Prime Minster (and it remained that way right until the end)? Yet, here we are, over twelve years into Conservative rule, and nearly up to half a dozen leaders.Aren’t people asking how Tory members are now going to be able to trust a party which seemingly did not trust them to make the right call?Are people also not asking if less than two months really was too short a time to judge Liz Truss?Meanwhile, are people not going to question, if the Tories have not appeared to fix the crises of law and order, borders, or the economy in twelve years, how they will do so in the next two?Indeed, when the Tories moan about the state of the country, it is rather like a CEO who has been in office for a decade but comes into the boardroom banging on about everything which has gone wrong with the company.At some point, those around the table would point out that since the CEO had been at the helm all this time then surely the blame lies with them.To be fair to the Conservatives, these are collective failures. But just as no one individual can be blamed for all of this, so no one individual operating in such a system can fix it.In putting the market before the nation, the Tories are going to find their hyper-individualism is out of sync with their base. Successful right-wing governments around the world increasingly sing a more communitarian tune.In many ways, the party now needs saving from itself as much as the country needs saving from it.The fault may lie in Britain’s first-past-the-post system, which benefits the two main parties, and disproportionately the Tories, to the exclusion of smaller parties on the left and right.This has encouraged too much compromise and acceptance from the electorate, and too little respect from so many of the politicians.The consequence of this lopsided state of affairs was seen in 2015 when UKIP won over 12 per cent of the vote but not even 0.5 per cent of the seats.Critics say that the alternative model – proportional representation – leads to weak governments, even though that seems to be the norm now anyway.Some also say that PR breaks the link between MPs and constituencies, although that is a rather hit-and-miss affair these days as well.Truth be told, PR would at this point likely inject fresh ideas into public life, and break up the broad churches. It may encourage voters to stop tactical voting and compromise, and force the Tories to be more, well, conservative.Put simply, proportional representation – now backed by a majority of the public – might save the Conservatives from themselves.This may not be so far-fetched a hope. Labour – currently with a huge lead, which has not diminished since the new PM was announced – has many members who support PR, albeit a landslide could temper that.Still, a lot can happen between now and the next election, and if the lead is reduced to the point where Labour needs the Lib Dems or gets a wafer-thin majority then Sir Keir Starmer’s party may put a vote on PR to the public.This could come about either because the Lib Dems make it a condition of any coalition deal or because, even with a majority, Labour MPs might sense they have a more secure future leading ongoing centre-left coalitions.The Tories, in that instance, would be forced into a complete reset, and join forces with existing and new parties on the right, such as Richard Tice’s Reform UK.The UK also needs a reset, and a more democratic voting system might just do it.