Burnham to fight next election on pledge to change voting system

Burnham said he will fight the next election on a pledge to change the voting system. He did not reveal who would sit on his proposed commission or when it would begin its work. Any alteration to the voting method would require the support of the Liberal Democrats, who have previously urged Burnham to introduce proportional practice before the forthcoming election, which must be held by 2029. However, a move away from first‑past‑the‑post is likely to be resisted by the Conservatives. Reform UK backed the introduction of PR at the last election, although speculation suggests its enthusiasm for the change may have since cooled. Within Labour, backing for reform is not universal. Deputy leader Lucy Powell, speaking on BBC 2’s Politics Live, said she personally backs electoral betterment but declined to specify a projected caller system, adding that there are "lots of models" available. She also acknowledged that "parts of the Labour Party" are not successful favour of it. At the previous UK general election the Liberal Democrats backed the introduction of a single transferable vote (STV) system, the model used for Scottish assembly elections. Other alternatives include an additional member system, a hybrid that combines first‑past‑the‑post with regional lists, similar to the arrangement used to elect members of the Scottish Parliament. Earlier this year the Welsh Senedd was elected for the first time using a closed‑list proportional representation system.