Reform would have won 94 seats if first-past-the-post was ditched, electoral reform campaigners claim
- Under proportional representation (PR), Labour would not have had a majority
- The Conservatives would have had 157 seats, while Reform would have got 94
- Overall, no party would have had a majority, resulting in a coalition government
Things might have looked very different after the General Election if the votes had been 'fairly' shared out.
Labour would still have come top and the Tories second under a 'proportional representation' (PR) voting system.
But, crucially, Sir Keir Starmer's party would have been denied its massive Commons majority of more than 170 seats – won even though Labour got barely one in three of the votes cast last week.
And Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, which last week got just five seats on 14.3 per cent of the vote, would have been catapulted into third place with 94 seats.
Or at least, they would if our traditional first-past-the-post system were to be replaced with the so-called 'additional member system' (AMS) of PR used in the Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections.
Things could have been very different: Sir Keir Starmer took the keys to Number 10, but under the 'proportional representation' (PR) voting system Labour would have been denied a majority
The Conservatives would rise from 121 seats to a more respectable 157 under a PR system
Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, which last week got just five seats on 14.3 per cent of the vote, would have been catapulted into third place with 94 seats
According to the Electoral Reform Society, last week's results would take Labour down from 412 seats to just 236, based on their 33.7 per cent share of the vote.
The Conservatives would rise from 121 seats to a more respectable 157.
Sir Ed Davey's Liberal Democrats, traditionally one of PR's biggest supporters who got just over 12 per cent of the vote, would have a modest rise from 72 to 77 MPs.
However, Mr Farage would see his meagre five MPs rocket to 94. The Green Party would also soar from four to 42, based on gaining nearly 7 per cent of votes in Thursday's poll.
But it would mean that no party would command a Commons majority, potentially making coalition government a permanent feature of British political life.
Sir Ed Davey's Liberal Democrats, traditionally one of PR's biggest supporters who got just over 12 per cent of the vote, would have seen a modest rise from 72 to 77 MPs
However, the society's chief executive Darren Hughes said: 'This election has produced the most disproportional result in British electoral history.'
He added: 'It's time we moved to a fairer PR voting system for Westminster.
'People should get what they voted for.'
