Reading Derek Jarman’s ‘Modern Nature’, I was jolted out of reflections on plants, art, life and death by his sudden and surprisingly vehement condemnation of the Labour Party’s rejection of proportional representation at the Labour Party conference in 1989. I had no idea Derek Jarman cared so much about proportional representation. But then, why wouldn’t he?

During the 2022 Labour Party conference I was in Liverpool town hall’s wonderful council chamber for a Compass event on finding new ways to do politics, when there was suddenly huge excitement in the room. The conference delegates, in another part of the city, had just voted in favour of proportional representation (PR). Specifically, they had voted for the party to change the voting system for general elections to a form of PR in Labour’s first term in office and to convene an ‘open and inclusive process’ to decide the specific PR voting system it will introduce. Incredible! Proportional representation was an issue that I had come to feel passionately about as I saw the disaster that the First Past The Post (FPTP) system had created for our country – almost total distrust in and alienation from our political system (to borrow a phrase from Keir Starmer). Tory governments had been using their Commons majority to force through measures that served to reduce the power of the courts and Parliament so that the government could do whatever it wanted, and it seemed that we were all powerless to do anything about it. As I learned more, it seemed to me that FPTP was a part of the problem, and moving to a system that better reflects the views of all voters, and facilitates engagement, discussion and consensus, would go a long way towards shifting the tone of our political system.

So the fact that the Labour Party membership had voted in favour of a PR policy seemed like a huge leap in the right direction. Clearly, anybody who has any understanding at all of the party political system in the UK (which I didn’t) can see what is coming next. The fact that the Labour Party membership is in favour of a policy does not, I discovered, mean that this will become Labour Party policy. It is Labour’s national policy forum and ‘Clause V’ meeting before an election that decides which parts of the party programme are included in the manifesto. And PR had no chance of being in there – and still doesn’t. Keir Starmer has consistently said that he is not in favour of PR and electoral reform is not going be a priority of his government. Although he notes that many people feel their votes don’t currently count and that the Westminster system is part of the problem. He’s right on both counts. A poll in June 2024 found that a majority of Labour voters (along with majorities of Green, Lib Dem and, ahem, Reform voters) want a shift to PR.

To resolve some of the biggest issues of our time like climate change, inequality and social inclusion we need a political system that truly facilitates and incentivises collaborative decision-making. Our outdated and damaging current voting system hinders much-needed progress by propping up a two-party system that limits diverse representation and bakes instability into our policy landscape, perpetuating the multitude of crises facing our nation.

Make Votes Matter

As is often the case when we start to think we are living in unprecedented times, something comes along to remind us that, in fact, no, we have been here before. Derek Jarman’s contemptuous comments on the Labour Party of 1989 wouldn’t need much editing to be re-published as a commentary on the Labour Party of 2024. The Labour Party leadership know that FPTP has benefited their party, and has done so since the Labour Party supplanted the Liberals in the two-party system (Herbert, 2024), and so intend to stick with it despite being equally aware that it doesn’t benefit the country.

In 1989 Derek Jarman wrote, ‘The party is prepared to make any compromise for power … Hattersley’s statement lost my vote. Why could he not say the Labour Party has no interest in proportional representation as we wish to win an election outright?’ We could ask the same question 35+ years later.

No proportional voting system is as flawed as First Past the Post, and good systems of Proportional Representation – which have a strong constituency link, enhanced voter choice and accountable representation – are incomparably better.

Make Votes Matter