Andy Burnham is facing a Labour revolt over plans to replace first-past-the-post with proportional representation, amid warnings that the change could give small parties with “outlandish views” disproportionate influence.
The Prime Minister announced at last month’s Labour conference that the party would seek a manifesto commitment to electoral reform at the next general election.
He also said he was establishing a national commission to examine how the current system could be replaced, arguing that “everyone’s vote counts and everyone’s voice is heard”.
However, opposition has emerged within Labour over the proposal to change how MPs and governments are elected in Westminster contests.
Lord Blunkett, the former home secretary and Labour peer, has urged supporters of electoral reform to be “extremely careful” about what they wish for.
Pointing to Israeli politics, where Benjamin Netanyahu governs in coalition with ultranationalist allies who reject a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lord Blunkett warned of the risks of allowing small parties to hold the balance of power.
“If there were ever an example of how tiny minorities representing not only outlandish views but providing a blockage on progress, compromise and long-term outcomes, it has to be this form of PR,” he wrote.
Louise Haigh, Mr Burnham’s de facto deputy Prime Minister, has reportedly expressed concerns about moving to proportional representation. Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, has previously opposed abandoning first-past-the-post.
John Healey, now Chancellor, campaigned against electoral reform during the 2011 referendum on the Alternative Vote system. Ed Miliband, now Foreign Secretary, supported the opposite position, while Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh was among Labour MPs to back calls for reform earlier this year.
Resistance has also come from Labour backbenchers. Jonathan Brash, the MP for Hartlepool, said he would “never support a system that weakened that relationship between an MP and the people they represent”.
“I want to be the MP for Hartlepool,” he said.
Other Labour MPs have raised concerns that a future government elected under proportional representation could depend on the Green Party or Liberal Democrats for support in a coalition.
