Single Transferable Vote
No electoral system is perfect. Some, however, are more perfect than others.
We believe that where candidates are being elected to multiple vacancies, STV offers voters the best and most effective choice.
What is STV?
STV uses preferential voting in multi-member constituencies. Each voter gets one vote, which can transfer from their first-preference to their second-preference and so on, as necessary. Candidates don't need a majority of votes to be elected, just a known 'quota', or share of the votes, determined by the size of the electorate and the number of positions to be filled.
If your preferred candidate has no chance of being elected or has enough votes already, your vote is transferred to another candidate in accordance with your instructions. STV thus ensures that very few votes are wasted, unlike other systems, especially
First-Past-the-Post, where only a small number of votes actually contribute to the result.
Why STV?
STV gives voters more choice than any other system. This in turn puts most power in the hands of the voters, rather than the party heads, who under other systems can more easily determine who is elected, meaning that under STV MPs' responsibilities lie more with the electorate than those above them in their party.
- Fewer votes are 'wasted' (i.e. cast for losing candidates or unnecessarily cast for the winner) with STV. This means that most voters can identity a representative that they personally helped to elect. Such a link in turn increases a representative's accountability.
- STV offers voters a choice of representatives to approach with their concerns post-election, rather than just the one, who may not be at all sympathetic to a voter's views, or may even be the cause of the concern.
- Competition is generally a good thing. Competition to provide a good service to constituents is no different.
- There are no safe seats under STV, meaning candidates cannot be complacent and parties must campaign everywhere, and not just in marginal seats.
- When voters have the ability to rank candidates, the most disliked candidate cannot win, as they are no good at picking up second-, third- and lower-preference votes.
- There is no need for tactical voting.
- There is a more sophisticated link between a constituency and its representative. Not only is there more incentive to campaign and work on a more personal and local level, but also, the constituencies are likely to be more sensible reflections of where community feeling lies.