Vote swap launched in Lancashire to elect progressives committed to electoral reform

Cross-party campaigners in South Cumbria and North Lancashire have endorsed two prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs) committed to electoral reform and have launched a ‘vote swapping’ campaign to get them elected at the next general election.

Campaign group Compass South Cumbria and North Lancashire, a local group affiliated to the national cross-party campaign group Compass, have backed Tim Farron, incumbent Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland & Lonsdale and Lizzi Collinge, Labour PPC for Morecambe & Lunesdale.

Crucial to these endorsements is that both candidates are vocal public advocates for proportional representation (PR), a voting system where everyone’s vote counts equally, politics is fairer and Parliament reflects how we vote.

Compass South Cumbria and North Lancashire analysed both seats and came to the conclusion that these two PR-supporting candidates are best placed to win with the help of a vote swapping campaign.

Other Compass local groups are looking to secure similar such endorsements across the country and have already had success in places such as Oxfordshire and Kent.

Under our current First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system, where we live matters. A vote in a marginal seat counts more than one in a safe seat. And if a voter lives in a constituency where their preferred candidate has no chance of winning, they often feel forced to vote tactically and not for the candidate they actually support.

In Westmorland & Lonsdale and Morecambe & Lunesdale, Compass South Cumbria and North Lancashire hopes to challenge this democratic injustice and maximise the effectiveness of progressive votes by matching Liberal Democrat supporters in Morecambe & Lunesdale with Labour voters in Westmorland & Lonsdale.

Paired voters will then ‘swap’ their votes with one another and cast their ballots for the candidate best-placed to beat the Conservatives and deliver change in their area, all while ensuring their party of choice receives support where it matters most.

Compass, through the election-focused campaign Win As One, aims to facilitate collaboration between Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens in key seats to help a progressive government win power and change the voting system.

Compass says it will back the best-placed progressive candidates who support wholesale reform of our democracy - starting with replacing our First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system with PR.

This is because FPTP stifles productive debate, promotes short-termism, tribalism and timidity, and blocks us from pressing ahead with the bold and transformative solutions that our age of permacrisis demands.

Although Compass South Cumbria and North Lancashire has not identified any winnable seats for the Green Party locally, the campaign's focus on candidates who will champion PR is motivated, in part, because the Greens are disproportionately disadvantaged by FPTP. Only under a proportional system will the Greens win fair representation in Parliament.

You can find the vote swap here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/swap-your-vote-in-south-cumbria-and-north-lancashire.

Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland & Lonsdale, said:

“Having a fair voting system would mean that everyone’s vote counts - in so many constituencies, everyone knows the outcome of the election before a single ballot is cast. That’s not right. Every voter should be and feel heard.

“A fairer voting system would mean that Parliament actually reflected the will of the British people and would end the pattern of parties getting the support of barely a third of the electorate but attaining 100% of power.

“Proportional Representation would force politicians to work together, to find common ground and to give us a more open and civilised democracy.”

Lizzi Collinge, Labour candidate for Morecambe & Lunesdale, said:

“I want everyone to participate in our democracy and for every vote to matter. That’s why I agree with the Labour Party policy that First Past the Post is flawed and why I want to see a more proportional voting system.

“I have been a long-time supporter of electoral reform to ensure a fairer voting system and in my personal view I believe it is vital that any new system retains the constituency link to ensure that every local community has a champion in Parliament.

“I look forward to working with people in Morecambe & Lunesdale and within the Labour movement to ensure electoral reform is on the agenda.”

Andi Chapple, a supporter of Compass South Cumbria & North Lancashire said:

“Even a quick look at Westminster politics over the last few years shows you it's not fit for purpose. We need an entirely new system. To get it, we have to start with electing people committed to reform - starting with proportional representation.

“Under FPTP, geography means many votes don't matter. With this vote swap, we’re using the system to change the system.

“If we had progressive MPs representing both Westmorland & Lonsdale and Morecambe & Lunesdale, we could begin to build towards a new democratic politics where tactical voting is unnecessary, where our votes count, and where our needs, locally and nationally, finally come first.”