TUC join chorus for Voting Reform

The Vote for a Change campaign has reacted to news that Trade Union Congress has passed an historic resolution in favour debating electoral reform.

Willie Sullivan, Campaign Director of Vote for a Change said

'This is the first time in over a century that this debate has been allowed on the floor of Congress. The Unions join a growing chorus from across civil society pushing for change and itís no wonder the government is moving with the pressure and seriously considering giving people a referendum on how MPs should be elected.

ìIn the past the unions have been a powerful block against reform, their new found warmth towards the change is another sign that a system frozen in time during the last century is now beginning to thawî

ìAlready former hardcore First-Past-the-Poster Roy Hattersley has come in from the cold. Heís rightly rounded on a system that hands an ìinvincible majorityî to parties on a fraction of the vote. We invite any other politicians to make the same leap of faith. [2]

ìThe logic behind a referendum is simple and irresistible. Voters should decide how we hire our MPs. We face difficult choices in our economy, on jobs and on tax, on health and education. And we need to know that our government and our parliament is both representative and accountable to the working people of Britain.

ìWe welcome the debate in the Congress. But this is one debate that affects us all, and must include every British citizen. And thatís only possible with a referendum.

[1] PCS resolution 'Congress recognises that democratic renewal also requires elected politicians to be properly representative of, and accountable to, their constituents and therefore calls on the General Council to instigate a debate within the trade union movement on change in the current parliamentary electoral system towards a system of proportional representation.'

[2] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/a...