Electoral reform could potentially increase the influence of "racist, bigoted, eccentric" candidates, Chancellor John Healey has warned. The comments come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham advocates for changes to the current electoral system.
Healey expressed concerns that abolishing the first-past-the-post model could empower fringe parties, creating an "unfair, perverse" system. Burnham, a proponent of proportional representation, has called for a system where "everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard," arguing that proportional representation would allow smaller parties to gain a role in government proportional to their vote share.
In 2011, Healey wrote that any overhaul of the electoral system could grant power to "fringe" parties. He cautioned against discarding a system that works in favor of an alternative vote (AV) model, where voters rank candidates by preference. Under AV, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed until one candidate secures a majority.
Healey argued that the AV model could lead to the "unedifying prospect" of major parties seeking support from candidates with extremist or single-issue platforms. He stated, "Politicians should be seeking the trust of voters, not encouraging them to move the goalposts."
Burnham's announcement has also drawn warnings that Britain could face a future of "rainbow coalition" governments if the first-past-the-post system is abandoned. An analysis of general election results since World War II suggests that Britain would have lacked a majority government for over fifty years under a proportional representation system. The Electoral Reform Society noted that under a single transferable vote (STV) system, like that used in Northern Ireland, Labour would have been 99 seats short of a majority in the 2024 election. Similarly, Boris Johnson's Conservative party would have fallen 18 seats short of a majority in 2019 under an STV system, potentially jeopardizing his "Get Brexit Done" pledge.