Weaver Vale Constituency Labour Party becomes the 166th to back PR, one quarter of all CLPs

Weaver Vale CLP became the 166th local branch of the Labour Party to pass a motion calling for Proportional Representation this week. That means over a quarter of CLPs have passed a motion in recent years, making PR one of the most called for policies in Labour history.

The renewed push for PR among Labour activists comes with the formation of Labour for a New Democracy, a coalition of organisations pushing for PR, including the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, Make Votes Matter, Open Labour, the Electoral Reform Society and others. If you would like to push for PR within Labour, you can sign up here.

CLPs in Wales, Scotland and all of the English regions have backed PR. The static map below shows which CLPs have passed motions, or you can explore the interactive map here. You can also see the full list of CLPs which have passed motions here.

The map above shows broad support from diverse parts of the UK, from Dwyfor Meirionnydd to Dewsbury and St Ives to Sunderland South. This includes 28 of Labour’s top 100 target seats in England and Wales – key marginals such as Colne Valley, Hastings and Rye, Pendle and Warrington South – as well as the CLPs of both Keir Starmer (Holborn and St Pancras) and Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North).

Recent polling suggests over three quarters of Labour members back PR. During his leadership campaign, Keir Starmer said “we’ve got to address the fact that millions of people vote in safe seats and they feel their vote doesn’t count”. Labour’s official neutral position on changing the voting system is becoming more and more untenable.

Labour for a New Democracy is building momentum for the next Labour conference, sending speakers to Labour Party meetings, supporting members to pass motions in CLPs and trade union branches, and building alliances across the Labour movement. Please sign up to get involved.