The Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform is an organisation formed of members and supporters of the British Labour Party, seeking to persuade the party to adopt in its manifesto a commitment to proportional representation in all UK elections. LCER characterises the First Past the Post voting system as "unfair and deeply flawed, leading to voter apathy, disaffection with politics, and parliaments which don't represent the people". It campaigns for its replacement with an electoral system which is "broadly proportional, and in which all votes matter". The group works closely with other organisations promoting electoral reform in the UK, including Make Votes Matter, the Electoral Reform Society and Politics for the Many. LCER is distinct from these other organisations in that it focuses its efforts on promoting proportional representation within the Labour Party. This is driven by the belief that a change to the UK's voting system can only come about via Labour:
"We believe that the impetus for changing the voting system must come from the Labour Party. The Conservatives will never support PR, because First Past the Post gives them such a big electoral advantage. The smaller parties already support PR, but lack the influence to bring about change. Only Labour can drive the change".
History
LCER originated in the 1970s as the Labour Study Group for Electoral Reform. After Labour's defeat in the 1979 general election, the group changed its name to the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform. Early supporters included academic Ron Medlow; Robin Cook, Jeff Rooker, and Martin Linton, who went on to be Labour MPs; and activist Mary Southcott, who would later become LCER's Parliamentary and Political Officer. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s – during which Labour spent most of its time in opposition – support for LCER increased steadily among both Labour members and elected representatives, with motions on electoral reform being tabled at the party conference almost every year. In 1990, the party conference voted narrowly to commission an inquiry into electoral systems; LCER is widely credited in bringing this about. The inquiry, led by Professor Raymond Plant, recommended the introduction of the supplementary vote. Labour included in its 1997 election manifesto a pledge to hold a referendum on electoral reform; however, this pledge was never honoured, despite the work of the Jenkins Commission, in which Liberal DemocratLord Jenkins explored possible voting systems on behalf of incumbent Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair's government. In 2010, incoming Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron announced a referendum on electoral reform in return for the support of the Liberal Democrats in a governing coalition. The referendum, which offered the Alternative Vote as an alternative to FPTP, was held in May 2011. AV is not a proportional voting system, and was seen by many electoral reformers as no great improvement on FPTP: Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg called it a "miserable little compromise", and some leading proponents of electoral reform considered AV to be such a poor system that they voted for the status quo. LCER did support AV in the 2011 referendum, via the Yes2AV umbrella group, but following the heavy and widely predicted defeat of the Yes campaign, LCER's activities fell into abeyance for several years, with activists exhausted and the organisation having spent almost all its money. Activity increased again in 2015 and has been rising steadily ever since; Make Votes Matter notes that one third of Labour MPs, 77 Constituency Labour Parties, and two trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party have expressed support for proportional representation.
LCER does not advocate the introduction of a specific system of proportional representation, believing that the selection of a new voting system should be the work of a Royal Commission. Rather, it campaigns for the Labour Party:
To reject first-past-the-post voting for elections at all levels of government
To ensure that the Constitutional Convention already promised in Labour's manifesto, includes in its remit a consideration of voting systems
To include in its election manifesto a commitment to establishing a broadly proportional voting system at all levels of government
LCER's support for proportional representation is based on the belief that PR systems are more democratic than FPTP, but also on evidence that PR voting systems are associated with societies with higher levels of social and economic equality; with higher levels of public spending and redistribution; and with a lower propensity to engage in violent conflict.
