Greens for a Better Europe – Book

I’m really excited to see the launch of Greens for a Better Europe – Twenty Years of UK Green Influence in the European Parliament, a book which I contributed a chapter to, co-authored by Klina Jordan.

The book will be available from early March. Until then, here is the abstract of mine and Klina’s chapter. When the book is launched, it will be available for free online and I will post the info on this blog.

Proportional Representation and Britain’s democratic deficit

Klina Jordan and Owen Winter

In 1957, the Treaty of Rome set out a vision for a European Parliament, directly elected by universal suffrage under a common voting system. When the first election was held, in 1979, it was the world’s first transnational election. Whilst a common voting system was not agreed, the UK was the only participant not to elect its MEPs by Proportional Representation (PR). This changed in 1999, when Tony Blair’s Labour government introduced PR for European Parliament elections. As a result, the European Parliament offers a unique and overlooked perspective on the effect of electoral systems on voter behaviour and party systems. It shows how electoral systems give rise to diverse, multiparty systems, with many consequences for national politics. This has been crucial in the rise of Green parties as a European movement, with Greens outdoing their performance in national elections across Europe. This has been particularly important in countries with majoritarian electoral systems, such as the UK and France, where European elections offer one of few chances for national representation. The use of PR in the UK has exposed the failings of the First Past the Post (FPTP) system used to elect MPs, which has resulted in recurring UK Parliaments that fail to represent how people have voted. This stands in stark contrast to our European neighbours, who have achieved better representation of women and minorities, as well as greater satisfaction with democracy. In fact, PR countries outperform majoritarian ones systems in many areas, including climate policy, peacefulness and income equality. The use of PR for European and devolved elections has fundamentally altered British politics, making reform for the House of Commons increasingly likely. With the rise of Make Votes Matter, the single issue campaign for PR, the time is right to push for real democracy in the UK.