Submission History: Motion by Bailie Anthony Carroll:- "Council recognises the inequality in our UK voting system, which elects through a First Past the Post (FPTP) system. FPTP originated when land-owning aristocrats dominated parliament and voting was restricted to property-owning men. Council notes that in Europe, only the UK and authoritarian Belarus still use single-round FPTP for general elections to their national parliaments. Internationally, Proportional Representation (PR) is used to elect the parliaments of more than 80 countries. These countries tend to produce more equitable, stable, and accountable governments. PR ensures all votes count, have equal value, and that seats won match votes cast. Under PR, MPs and Parliaments better reflect the age, gender and protected characteristics of both local communities and of the nation. Council recognises that PR is currently used to elect the Welsh Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as local councillors in Scotland. Council notes that the Scottish Parliament is only partially elected through a PR system, with the D'Hondt method. Council also notes that as more people feel represented through a wider spectrum of voices elected through PR, disenfranchisement is reduced, as well as skewered results such as majority-rule of the UK Government on 33% of the vote in 2024, and 36% in 2015. Such unrepresentative results have led to consequential policy changes with limited public support, including upon the democratic process. Council notes the Electoral Commission's data which detailed that 16,000 people were denied the right to vote due to incorrect voter ID at the 2024 UK General Election, with 4% of people polled post-election not voting due to Voter-ID requirements. Council expresses its opposition to the UK Government's policy of mandatory voter photo ID and the detrimental effect it has on voter turnout, especially in more marginalised communities, for an electoral process that already disenfranchises many through its voting system. Council echoes the call for proportional representation for elections to the House of Commons which has been made by Trade Unions such as Unite, UNISON, and the CWU, and which was passed overwhelmingly by the Labour Party's 2022 Conference, and supported by the SNP, Scottish Greens, Reform, and other political parties within the UK. Council supports moving towards a fully proportional system for Scottish Parliament elections, in the same spirit that the Welsh Senedd has. Therefore, Council requests the Convener for Open Government writes to the Minister for the Cabinet Office urging support for fairer UK Elections, through amending the Representation of the People Bill to introduce a proportional representation system of voting for UK Elections, and reversing the restrictions put upon voters by the introduction of mandatory voter ID. Council additionally requests the Convener for Open Government write to the new Minister for Parliamentary Business in the Scottish Government to request that similar preparatory work begins to make the election system for the Scottish Parliament wholly proportional. Council also shows its support for investigating opportunities to enhance awareness of the new voter ID requirements and to maximise uptake of postal ballot applications from as many people as possible who may otherwise be disenfranchised by the new voter ID law in future Westminster elections." Help Icon

This is the history for the submission "Motion by Bailie Anthony Carroll:- "Council recognises the inequality in our UK voting system, which elects through a First Past the Post (FPTP) system. FPTP originated when land-owning aristocrats dominated parliament and voting was restricted to property-owning men. Council notes that in Europe, only the UK and authoritarian Belarus still use single-round FPTP for general elections to their national parliaments. Internationally, Proportional Representation (PR) is used to elect the parliaments of more than 80 countries. These countries tend to produce more equitable, stable, and accountable governments. PR ensures all votes count, have equal value, and that seats won match votes cast. Under PR, MPs and Parliaments better reflect the age, gender and protected characteristics of both local communities and of the nation. Council recognises that PR is currently used to elect the Welsh Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as local councillors in Scotland. Council notes that the Scottish Parliament is only partially elected through a PR system, with the D'Hondt method. Council also notes that as more people feel represented through a wider spectrum of voices elected through PR, disenfranchisement is reduced, as well as skewered results such as majority-rule of the UK Government on 33% of the vote in 2024, and 36% in 2015. Such unrepresentative results have led to consequential policy changes with limited public support, including upon the democratic process. Council notes the Electoral Commission's data which detailed that 16,000 people were denied the right to vote due to incorrect voter ID at the 2024 UK General Election, with 4% of people polled post-election not voting due to Voter-ID requirements. Council expresses its opposition to the UK Government's policy of mandatory voter photo ID and the detrimental effect it has on voter turnout, especially in more marginalised communities, for an electoral process that already disenfranchises many through its voting system. Council echoes the call for proportional representation for elections to the House of Commons which has been made by Trade Unions such as Unite, UNISON, and the CWU, and which was passed overwhelmingly by the Labour Party's 2022 Conference, and supported by the SNP, Scottish Greens, Reform, and other political parties within the UK. Council supports moving towards a fully proportional system for Scottish Parliament elections, in the same spirit that the Welsh Senedd has. Therefore, Council requests the Convener for Open Government writes to the Minister for the Cabinet Office urging support for fairer UK Elections, through amending the Representation of the People Bill to introduce a proportional representation system of voting for UK Elections, and reversing the restrictions put upon voters by the introduction of mandatory voter ID. Council additionally requests the Convener for Open Government write to the new Minister for Parliamentary Business in the Scottish Government to request that similar preparatory work begins to make the election system for the Scottish Parliament wholly proportional. Council also shows its support for investigating opportunities to enhance awareness of the new voter ID requirements and to maximise uptake of postal ballot applications from as many people as possible who may otherwise be disenfranchised by the new voter ID law in future Westminster elections."".

It shows every meeting that the submission went before and links to the agenda for those meetings.


Committee Meeting View Agenda
Glasgow City Council 14/05/2026 Click here