The rejection of AV is the fifth occasion in the last 100 years that a proposal to replace FPTP has failed. This history of failure to secure electoral reform hinges on the ever-changing political calculus between Labour and the Liberal Democrats

Abstract

Throughout the AV referendum campaign, there was general agreement that it was a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity for electoral reform in Britain. But, does greater impetus for electoral reform happen only once in a generation? Stuart Wilks-Heeg, of Democratic Audit, investigates the history of proposals to replace our current First Past the Post system, and finds that the shifting balance of power between parties on the left created possibilities for reform in previous decades. If Labour and the Liberal Democrats are able to find common ground on this issue in the coming years, then electoral reform will remain firmly on the table