CWU members have voted decisively to reject Westminster’s failing First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system and back a move to proportional representation, marking a historic shift for the Labour-affiliated union.
Delegates passed the motion at the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth on Sunday May 10th warning that “FPTP is producing unrepresentative results and is at crisis point,” also describing it as “unsustainable and dangerous”.
The union cited the government’s move to scrap FPTP for mayoral elections and urged that “there has never been a clearer need to change the First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system in Westminster too.”
The move highlights the sea change in the trade union and Labour movement as CWU becomes the eighth Labour-affiliated union to make electoral reform its official policy.
CWU’s vote comes after Unite, Unison and Usdaw have all voted to back electoral reform in recent years. Sunday’s vote shows how support for ditching First Past the Post has become the overwhelming position in the Labour-affiliated trade union movement.
The impact of growing trade union support for electoral reform has already been seen in the Labour Party as the affiliate unions were key to the passing of the 2022 conference motion supporting the move to proportional representation.
Ed Baldwin, CWU Kent Invicta Branch & Political Officer SE Region, who proposed the motion, said:
“First Past the Post no longer reflects those we represent and is producing results that do not match the will of the people.
“The Labour government has already accepted it is broken by scrapping it for mayoral elections. If it distorts democracy there, then it distorts democracy at Westminster too.
“This motion is a demand for fairness, representation and a democracy that works, and CWU has never been afraid to challenge systems that fail working people. It is time for our union to lead and help make proportional representation a reality.”
Nancy Platts, Coordinator of the Politics for the Many Campaign, said:
“Trade unionists have always been at the forefront of the fight for fairness and democracy, which is why CWU delegates voted decisively to reject the failing First Past the Post system and back electoral reform.
“It is clear that we cannot continue with a voting system that ignores millions of votes and is producing more and more chaotic results that do not represent the way people have voted.
“CWU’s vote demonstrates how support for proportional representation is now the overwhelming position of the Labour-affiliated unions, with Unite, Unison and Usdaw moving to back electoral reform in recent years.
“This marks a sea change in the Labour movement. The party’s politicians at Westminster now need to listen to these collective voices and act to make electoral reform a reality.”
Nancy Platts, Coordinator of the Politics for the Many Campaign, is a Member of Campaign Collective.