See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 13:30 BST, 26 August 2026 | Updated: 13:31 BST, 26 August 2026
Andy Burnham is facing a crunch House of Commons vote next week on ditching Britain's first-past-the-post system for Westminster elections.Nearly 100 Labour MPs are backing a demand for the establishment of a 'national commission' on electoral reform.They are supporting an amendment tabled to the Government's Representation of the People Bill, which is due to complete its Commons stages next Wednesday.The national commission would consider scrapping the current first-past-the-post voting system for electing MPs and make proposals for an alternative.Labour MPs want the commission to publish its final recommendations within 12 months of being established.The amendment, if pushed to a Commons vote, will be an early test of the Prime Minister's long-time support for electoral reform.Mr Burnham said last month he wanted Labour to make a commitment to electoral reform in the party's manifesto for the next general election.Changing the current first-past-the-post system for general elections to proportional representation could allow smaller parties such as the Greens to form part of a Westminster government. Andy Burnham is facing a crunch House of Commons vote next week on ditching Britain's first-past-the-post system for Westminster electionsThe PM is being urged to support the establishment of a new national commission into electoral reform within his first 100 days in power.Rachel Blake, Labour MP for the Cities of London and Westminster and a former Treasury minister, told The Guardian: 'The PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) agrees with Andy Burnham that first-past-the-post is broken, and that a national commission is the way to get a grip on it.'The Government should press ahead and launch this process within the prime minister's first 100 days.'Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham and a member of Labour's ruling National Executive Committee, said: 'Parliament is catching up with the public, most of whom already support electoral reform.'Andy Burnham has a good track record on proportional representation, and it's now hugely popular across the Labour party. He should seize this opportunity.' Labour's party conference voted to support moving towards a proportional representation voting system in 2022.But the party's 2024 manifesto instead focused its electoral reforms on extending voting to 16 and 17-year-olds, the premise of the Bill to be voted on by the Commons next week.A Labour source said: 'The Representation of the People Bill has been designed to deliver our manifesto commitments on votes at 16 and strengthen political donation rules to guard against foreign interference, and that's what the government is prioritising.'Andy remains strongly committed to electoral reform, and has indicated this is a matter for a future party manifesto, given a mandate would need to be secured for it.'Writing in response to a question on Reddit about whether he supported the introduction of proportional representation, Mr Burnham said in July: 'I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving.'I will seek to persuade my own party of the need for a manifesto commitment to it in the next manifesto.'
