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12 March 2015

“It will be subject to more pressure“: Chuka Umunna believes electoral reform is on its way back

The cause of electoral reform will be strengthened in the era of multi-party politics, Labour's shadow Business Secretary believes.

By Stephen Bush

The era of multi-party politics is here to stay and the first-past-the-post electoral system will come under increasing pressure and scrutiny, Chuka Umunna has predicted.

Speaking to LBC, the shadow business secretary said:

We have a first past post voting system that I don’t like.

I’m an electoral reformer, I think we need to change the way we do politics, and that includes changing our voting system.”

Umunna, like Ed Miliband, is a supporter of electoral reform and voted in favour of the Alternative Vote. (Labour itself is amicably split on the issue of voting reform.) Umunna believes that a proportional system is “more democratic [and] fairer”, allowing the creation of “open coalitions”, as opposed to the current Westminster parties which are “broad churches, they’re closed coalitions”.  The current electoral system will be “subject to more pressure, and come under question more”, Umunna predicted.

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