I have written this statement to address constituent concerns about the current voting system for mayoral elections, and comment on the upcoming English Devolution Bill.
I believe that First Past the Post (FPTP) is a well-established, long-standing and nationally understood voting system. This is why I supported the last Government’s work to introduce FPTP for all elected mayors and for Police and Crime Commissioners through the Elections Act 2022.
The system is simple and fair, based on the fairest principal that the person chosen to represent a mayoral constituency should be the person who receives the most votes. Other systems simply do not uphold this principal. First Past the Post ensures that the most popular candidate in a constituency is elected. There is no possibility that they could be beaten by a middle-ranking opponent, on the basis of second preferences.
As the world’s most widely used system, I believe that FPTP remains the best and most transparent choice for our mayoral elections. You may be interested in reading my statement in response to calls for political reform at the national level which you can find here:
https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/news/mims-davies-mp-statement-political-reform
Regarding the wider issue of local devolution in England; I believe there can be no doubt that strengthening local leadership is crucial for driving local economic growth and productivity.
In 2010, the only area in England with a devolution settlement was Greater London. As a result of the work of the last Government, as of March 2024, over 64 per cent of England is covered by a devolution deal. This includes over 90 per cent of the North of England; some 14 million people.
I am concerned, however, this Labour Government is looking to impose top-down restructuring on councils across England. It is the Conservative position that any restructuring must be informed by local decisions made by locally elected representatives, and work to strengthen rather than weaken local democracy.
Whether in the form of becoming Unitary Authorities or merging with other local authorities, no area should be bullied or blackmailed into restructuring. Whilst I support stronger co-operation and greater accountability, any change to local government must also be strictly local in its focus.
I believe that the plans proposed in the Government’s English Devolution White Paper risk removing the local from local government, and could weaken local democracy by side lining local identity and distancing communities from their elected representatives.
I look forward to debating these plans when the newly-published English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill reaches its second reading in September.
