POLITICAL COMMENT: “Wake Up” Say Electoral Reform campaigners to Westminster following by-elections

Following the results of the Makerfield, Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, and Aberdeen South by-elections held concurrently on Thursday 18 June, members of the Proportional Representation (PR) advocacy organisation Make Votes Matter have again urged Westminster to ‘wake up to the need for electoral reform’.

All three contests were triggered as a result of the outcomes of last May’s English local and Scottish devolved elections. MVM asserts that the former sets of elections saw highly distorted, seemingly random results as First Past the Post (FPTP) failed in the face of an emergent multiparty system, contrasting poorly with the more proportional results of the Scottish and Welsh devolved elections.

Makerfield

In Makerfield, Labour candidate and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won with 55% of votes cast, defeating Reform rival Robert Kenyon who won only 35% of votes cast.

The Makerfield by-election received national attention due to a much-speculated Labour leadership contest. Labour’s loss of 1,498 councillors and control of thirty-eight councils last May further undermined confidence in Keir Starmer’s premiership. With Burnham widely considered a frontrunner for the Labour leadership despite not being a sitting MP, the previous MP for Makerfield Josh Simons resigned specifically to allow Burnham to re-enter Parliament and mount a challenge against Starmer.

With Makerfield having elected only Labour MPs since its creation in 1983, Reform UK were considered the main opposition in the seat. Makerfield was considered fertile ground for Reform due to the party winning 96% of seats contested in the recent Wigan local elections – albeit with 44% of votes cast – and 65% of the constituency’s voters having supported Brexit in 2016.

MVM claim that Burnham’s victory can be attributed to tactical voting and vote splitting. While Burnham is believed to have garnered ‘lent’ votes from Liberal Democrats and Greens supporters, Restore Britain’s Rachel Shepherd – who came third with 7% of votes cast – is believed to have siphoned off votes which may otherwise have won by Kenyon, contributing to his loss. MVM cites forcing voters either to vote for the ‘less of two evils’ or risk electing an unrepresentative candidate as major flaws of FPTP.

Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, and Aberdeen South

The two by-elections held in the Scottish Westminster constituencies were triggered due to the election of their MPs – Stephen Gethins and Stephen Flynn – to the Scottish Parliament last May. Serving simultaneously as an MP and an MSP – also called a dual mandate – is prohibited under the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025.

The Scottish National Party were able to retain Arbroath and Broughty Ferry with their candidate Lara Bird being elected with 41% of votes cast. However, they lost Aberdeen South in a surprise victory for the Conservatives with their candidate Douglas Lumsden being elected with nearly half of all votes cast and becoming the first Conservative to win a Scottish Westminster by-election since 1967.

Amidst a climate emergency, the Iran war and questions over the UK’s energy future, the Aberdeen South by-election was treated as a referendum on the local oil and gas industry.

Turnout in Aberdeen South was 38%, while in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry it was only 31%, representing drops of 27% and 22% respectively from the 2024 general election. MVM have also criticised FPTP for depressing turnout and engagement, creating safe seats with predetermined winners and leading most votes cast to have no impact on the final result.

Pre-election Campaigning

During the weekend prior to the by-elections, MVM supporters held a series of events nationwide as part of its ‘Wake Up, Westminster’ campaign in response to disproportionate local election results. In Hampshire, for example, the Lib Dems won 93% of seats contested in Eastleigh with 41% of votes, Reform won 75% of seats contested in Havant with 42% of votes, and the Conservatives won 69% of seats contested in Fareham with 39% of votes.

On Saturday 13 June, MVM Warrington organised a demonstration outside of the constituency offices of Democracy Minister Samantha Dixon (Chester and Neston North, Labour) and displays of banners throughout Chester, including on the city walls and outside the Town Hall and Cathedral. Other events held that day included:

• A demonstration by MVM Surrey in Victoria Square, Woking in front of the Catafalque (Lying Man) sculpture.

• A banner drop in Totnes, Devon attended by local MP Caroline Voaden (South Devon, Lib Dem).

• ‘Roving stalls’ in Bedford, Keswick in Cumbria, and Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire featuring campaigners with hand bells to attract attention.

• Street stalls in Eynsham, Oxfordshire and Skelmersdale, Lancashire.

• Leafleting at the Wimborne Folk Festival in Dorset.

On Sunday 14 June, MVM South West London and MVM North London organised a march through London – past Parliament, Downing Street and Trafalgar Square – featuring pyjama-clad supporters while MVM Manchester held both a street stall and a banner display in Manchester city centre ahead of the Makerfield by-election. MVM York and North Yorkshire also held several banner displays around York, including along the city walls, outside York Minster and Clifford’s Tower, and in the commercial thoroughfare of Coney Street.

A Path to Downing Street and Electoral Reform?

As reported in the Manchester Evening News, Burnham’s Makerfield campaign was based around restoring trust in politics, ‘economic renewal’, and greater devolution of local powers.

Burnham has publicly identified himself as an electoral reform advocate, having spoken at the Labour4PR Rally at Labour’s 2025 Annual Conference and saying in an interview with BBC Manchester during the Makerfield campaign:

“I do think there needs to be reform to the electoral system to enable less point-scoring, more problem-solving – that’s what I think we need.”

While MVM did not support any one candidate in Makerfield, they highlighted which candidates endorsed electoral reform and pledged to work with whichever pro-PR candidate won to secure electoral reform.

In light of the influence that the Makerfield by-election may have on national politics and comments made in support of PR by potential leadership challengers such as Wes Streeting, MVM Chief Executive Emma Harrison said:

“First Past the Post promises stability but delivers the exact opposite. We’ve had six Prime Ministers in the past decade, each more unpopular than the last, and might be getting another one soon. With the possibility of a Labour leadership challenge, the coming months will be a time of intense debate about the future of British democracy.”

Prior to the Makerfield by-election, MVM endeavoured to generate support for an amendment to the Government’s Representation of the People Bill in support of a National Commission for Electoral Reform. Proposed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electoral Reform Chair Alex Sobel (Leeds Central and Headingley, Labour), it has been endorsed by more 130 MPs, or a fifth of the Commons. Among them are Hampshire MPs Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen, Labour), Danny Chambers (Winchester, Lib Dem), Alex Brewer (North East Hampshire, Lib Dem) and Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh, Lib Dem).