First Past the Post to Be Scrapped for English Mayoral Elections in Bid to Reverse Conservative 'Gerrymandering'
Support our mission to provide fearless stories about and outside the media system
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
The Government will scrap the use of First Past the Post in mayoral elections in England, in a surprise move as part of Labour's flagship devolution bill.
Under the English Devolution & Empowerment Bill - published today - the Supplementary Vote (SV) will be reinstated for Mayoral elections, replacing First Past the Post (FPTP) after just one electoral cycle. Byline Times was the first to report that the change was on the cards last December.
SV allows voters to list a second preference on the ballot paper. If their first choice doesn't command enough support, their second is used instead. It dramatically lowers the risk of 'spoiler' candidates splitting the vote, while backers say it also gives winners a stronger and more politically diverse mandate - as they must campaign for voters' second preferences as well as first.
The move has been welcomed by MPs and campaigners as recognition that First Past the Post is "not fit for purpose," and buoying hopes in some quarters that the Government may be more open minded about changing Westminster's voting system too.
ENJOYING THIS ARTICLE? HELP US TO PRODUCE MORE
Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories, shapes the agenda and holds power to account.
PAY ANNUALLY - £39.50 A YEAR
PAY MONTHLY - £3.75 A MONTH
MORE OPTIONS
We're not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund. We rely on our readers to fund our journalism. If you like what we do, please subscribe.
The English Devolution and Empowerment Bill reverses the change made by the previous Conservative Government in 2022. Campaigners say the change to FPTP has resulted in mayors being elected on very small shares of the vote, undermining their democratic mandates and eroding trust in the political system. It was widely viewed as a way of boosting Conservative chances in Labour-dominated mayoralties, and criticised by Sadiq Khan and others as a form of electoral 'gerrymandering'.
In the last set of English mayoral elections held under the preferential (SV) system in 2021, all six positions were elected with the support of a majority of local voters.
But in the 2024 elections, the first such elections held since the introduction of First Past the Post, only five of the ten mayors elected received a majority of the vote.
And in this year's May elections, not one of the six winning candidates received a majority of the vote. In Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Conservative Paul Bristow was elected with just 28% of the vote, while in the West of England, which saw a strong Green Party vote, Labour's Helen Godwin won with a mere 25%. In Hull & East Yorkshire, Reform won with 36% of the vote.
Electoral reform campaigners are calling the shift back
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
The Government will scrap the use of First Past the Post in mayoral elections in England, in a surprise move as part of Labour's flagship devolution bill.
Under the English Devolution & Empowerment Bill - published today - the Supplementary Vote (SV) will be reinstated for Mayoral elections, replacing First Past the Post (FPTP) after just one electoral cycle. Byline Times was the first to report that the change was on the cards last December.
SV allows voters to list a second preference on the ballot paper. If their first choice doesn't command enough support, their second is used instead. It dramatically lowers the risk of 'spoiler' candidates splitting the vote, while backers say it also gives winners a stronger and more politically diverse mandate - as they must campaign for voters' second preferences as well as first.
The move has been welcomed by MPs and campaigners as recognition that First Past the Post is "not fit for purpose," and buoying hopes in some quarters that the Government may be more open minded about changing Westminster's voting system too.
ENJOYING THIS ARTICLE? HELP US TO PRODUCE MORE
Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories, shapes the agenda and holds power to account.
PAY ANNUALLY - £39.50 A YEAR
PAY MONTHLY - £3.75 A MONTH
MORE OPTIONS
We're not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund. We rely on our readers to fund our journalism. If you like what we do, please subscribe.
The English Devolution and Empowerment Bill reverses the change made by the previous Conservative Government in 2022. Campaigners say the change to FPTP has resulted in mayors being elected on very small shares of the vote, undermining their democratic mandates and eroding trust in the political system. It was widely viewed as a way of boosting Conservative chances in Labour-dominated mayoralties, and criticised by Sadiq Khan and others as a form of electoral 'gerrymandering'.
In the last set of English mayoral elections held under the preferential (SV) system in 2021, all six positions were elected with the support of a majority of local voters.
But in the 2024 elections, the first such elections held since the introduction of First Past the Post, only five of the ten mayors elected received a majority of the vote.
And in this year's May elections, not one of the six winning candidates received a majority of the vote. In Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Conservative Paul Bristow was elected with just 28% of the vote, while in the West of England, which saw a strong Green Party vote, Labour's Helen Godwin won with a mere 25%. In Hull & East Yorkshire, Reform won with 36% of the vote.
Electoral reform campaigners are calling the shift back
Activity