62% of the population think we should have a fair voting system

10.02.37am GMT Wed 18th May 2005

A NOP survey for The Independent has found that 62 per cent of people agree that Britain should bring in proportional representation (PR) so that the number of MPs each party secures matches its votes more closely. Only 17 per cent disagree. NOP's finding is believed to show the strongest support yet for a switch to a proportional system.

The Liberal Democrats have long been supporters of electoral reform and having a fair voting system. Support for change appears to have grown following the debate over whether Labour secured a genuine mandate on 5 May after winning just over a third of the votes cast and the backing of just over one in five.

Nina Temple, the director of Make Votes Count, said "This poll shows that there has been a strong movement in public opinion in favour of voting reform since the election. People have been shocked that a government can be formed with such a small minority of votes cast."

Matthew Taylor, the chairman of the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Party, said "The British public has a strong sense of democracy and fair play which the jump in support for PR reflects. Labour had the support of little more than a third of those who voted on 5 May. How low can government support go before it can no longer claim to govern for the nation?"

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