"Fairer Votes for Islington" demand Lib Dems

2.32.51pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 14th Jun 2006

Islington's Lib Dem councillors are demanding a fairer election system for local elections, saying that proportional representation would have produced a very different Council to the one that was elected in May under the 'first past the post' system.

They have tabled a motion to council calling on the Government to introduce proportional representation for local elections, whereby council seats would be allocated in proportion to the number of votes cast for each party, making sure that every vote cast makes a difference.

Cllr Laura Willoughby, proposing the motion, says: "The Liberal Democrats have always believed in a fairer election system that makes sure every vote counts, even when it is to our own disadvantage, as in Islington. For us, it is a matter of principle, not political convenience.

"We were really pleased when at the Annual Council, the Labour Party indicated that wished May's elections had been performed under proportional representation, even though this goes against their own government's views. It's particularly generous of them considering that if the last two local elections in Islington had been conducted under proportional representation, Labour would have actually ended up with less seats now than in 2002, and far less than they actually gained in May under first past the post."