The basic principle

Put very simply, the ProFirst (or to give it its full name "Proportional First Past The Post") electoral system retains the present polling system intact. On polling day, you simply vote as now for the candidate you prefer, and the candidate who polls the largest number of votes in your constituency is elected immediately as your MP.

BUT - in Parliament when all the votes are counted after polling day, each MP is assigned a voting power that equals the number of votes which that MP actually received on polling day, scaled up or down so that the total votes in the House for each party exactly equals the total votes which that party polled overall.

The calculation is done once following a General Election, and then remains unchanged unless a by-election occurs, when all MPs' voting powers are adjusted to allow for any change in voting pattern within that constituency affecting the overall totals.

Obviously, when votes are cast in the House, the count has to be electronic, but that has already been under discussion for the UK parliament and would allow many long-overdue changes to be brought in - such as allowing temporarily-absent MPs to vote in every Division, as they should if their constituents' voices are to be heard.

To find out more

Check the http://www.pfptp.org.uk website here. You will be able to return to the current site by using the back-arrow.

Alternatively, please use the contact form to contact us if you need more information or wish to make a comment or suggestion.