Electoral reform and the constitution - What might a different voting system

This report, part of the joint Institute for Government/Bennett Institute Review of the UK Constitution, draws on examples from within the UK and across the world to consider what a move to different voting systems would mean for the operation of the UK constitution; to identify the attendant risks and opportunities of such a move; and to highlight areas where further reforms or changes to practic. [...] The UK system relies on political actors to resolve the question of which MP can “command the confidence of the House of Commons” to form a government, who is then formally appointed by the monarch on the advice of the outgoing prime minister. [...] It is these important questions that this paper seeks to identify and explore, looking first at the options for more proportional voting systems used in other countries, and then, drawing on examples from the UK and across the world, considering the implications for the formation of governments; the functioning of government; the House of Commons; devolution and the union; and, finally, political. [...] Legislation to implement AV was even passed by the House of Commons in 1918, as part of the Representation of the People Act 1918, but was blocked by the House of Lords.4 And it was AV again, in 2011, that was the subject of a referendum on changing the vote system, which was defeated 68% to 32% with a turnout of 42%. [...] The major difference is that, in the UK, for all the reasons discussed above, the appointment of a prime minister by the monarch does not in itself confirm that a government has confidence in the Commons.