When out campaigning, especially in the run up to elections I often encounter women who say they do not vote. This is one area of life where socio-economic status does not seem to be a factor, with mums on council estates and women living in detached mansions all saying the same thing. I frequently hear phrases such as, ‘I let my husband/partner make the decisions’, ‘I don’t understand politics’, ‘they (politicians) are all the same’, and ‘my vote doesn’t make any difference’.
More than 100 years since women won the vote it’s sad to note that a significant number of women still do not use their hard-won franchise to help shape the decision-making bodies that affect our everyday lives. After all, women are in many cases juggling multiple responsibilities, managing household budgets, trying to make ends meet often in difficult circumstances. Our experience matters and when our voice is not heard the whole of society is worse off.
Redressing the balance
Beyond the obvious solutions such as quotas and ‘Women Only’ short-lists what else could we do to improve the situation? Changing our electoral system is one option which might contribute to reducing the democratic deficit along with improving the representation of women in politics.
The 2024 General Election which saw Labour returned to power with a substantial majority helped to improve women’s representation in parliament with 44% of MPs elected being women. This resulted in the UK moving up to number 27 in world rankings.
It’s interesting to note, however, that many countries in the top ten for women’s representation, use Proportional Representation (PR) for legislative elections. In Europe, the UK along with Belarus, is the only country that still uses First Past the Post (FPTP), other than France which combines FPTP with a system of second round voting.
According to the American magazine Bolts which reports on power and politics from a grassroots perspective, the electoral systems in the UK and France are skewed to favour the chances of white male candidates. France, at least, has introduced parity laws and financial penalties for parties that fail to approach a 50/50 gender split. Labour can pat itself on the back for now, but we must also prepare for the longterm; the prospect of a far-right, anti-equality, anti-Muslim, homophobic party winning power under the current FPTP system is a very real possibility.
FPTP can overturn hard-won gains for women
Along with the Greens, Nigel Farage used to support PR as it allows for smaller parties to win seats. However, as Reform began to rise in the polls Farage’s enthusiasm for PR began to wane and he is now a vocal supporter of FPTP telling Sky News Australia, “…first-past-the-post can be your enemy, but there comes an inversion point at which it becomes your friend.”
This should worry all of us who care about women’s rights and progressive politics in general. Farage has a history of making sexist remarks and, following a recent meeting with Trump anti-abortion officials, voiced his belief that the legal limit for termination should be lowered, prompting an outcry from UK abortion-rights organisations. If the UK were to follow in the footsteps of Trump’s America, we could see a serious backlash against women’s rights including reproductive rights. The overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade ruling should be a wake-up call for women’s rights campaigners everywhere. Our hard-won rights can be taken away far more easily than many of us realise.
FPTP brought apartheid to South Africa
So, how do we stop this slide into far-right extreme politics which would undermine so many of the rights generations of women have fought for? Unlike FPTP, PR systems are notable for their ability to avoid extreme governments. FPTP is often credited with the introduction of the apartheid system in South Africa which took nearly 50 years to dismantle. PR meanwhile allows for consensus-driven progressive governments to maintain a firewall against extreme parties.
There’s a lot at stake for women
If more women knew what was at stake, they might take a greater interest in exercising their voting rights and hopefully join the growing campaign to call for an end to the outdated FPTP system. Beyond that, more women might even stand for election as PR can increase the prospects for women via zipped lists which enable women candidates to be prioritised. I credit my own electoral success in the European elections partly to PR and to a Labour Party that believed in putting women first. Now Labour is in government it’s time to change the system at home and ensure that every vote counts so that no woman will ever say again, ‘my vote doesn’t make any difference’.