A PROPOSAL which would have seen the city council join calls for Proportional Representation in Parliamentary votes was rejected this week.
Green Party councillor Helen Davison brought the proposal to a meeting of Carlisle City Council on Tuesday.
The motion, if passed, would have compelled the chief executive to write to Government, calling for Proportional Representation in Parliamentary elections.
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Elections in the UK are currently fought under a First Past the Post system.
Cllr Davison argued that PR would be a fairer voting system as it would see the number of seats won directly determined by the number of votes cast.
Councillor Helen Davison of the Green Party said: “The powers we have as local government, the constraints on us and the resources we have available to work with, are directly determined by the policies of the Government of the day and the legislation that has been passed previously.
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“It’s incumbent on local politicians to press for an electoral system that gives all our residents, the best quality representative Government as possible and gives all voters a fair and equal opportunity to influence Government.”
She argued “In December 2019, only 44 per cent of the votes cast were for the Conservatives but this resulted in them getting 56 per cent of the seats in Parliament and 100 per cent of the power.
“90 per cent of the time since 1985, we’ve had single party majority Government but none of them had the support of the majority of voters.
Labour and the Liberal Democrat Group were in favour of the council adding its voice to others calling for electoral reform.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Pickstone said: “The recent Cumberland elections were actually an example of how First Past the Post can fail us actually because 34 per cent of the electorate in Cumberland voted Conservative in May but only 15 per cent of the councillors, which is horrifically disproportionate in my view.”
The Conservative Group however, argued in favour of the existing electoral system.
Cllr Gareth Ellis deputy leader of the city council’s Conservative administration said: “The 2019 General Election, was actually the highest percentage of votes for Conservative or Labour than I think there’s been for decades, 87 per cent of the votes cast.”
Cllr Nigel Christian, argued that “the most serious issue we face in local government is people who don’t vote.”
The motion was defeated with 16 votes in favour and 20 against.
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