Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2015-06-29
Topic: Government Operations
John Warren Shipley (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Amendment 47 takes us to the heart of an issue that we have talked a great deal about over the three days in Committee. We have discussed the creation of one-party states; the need for accountability and legitimacy, and for properly functioning overview and scrutiny structures; and the need to ensure that the public back devolution and the powers and responsibilities that come with it We have expressed many concerns in Committee about the creation of the one-party state. One solution to the problem is to introduce proportional representation, using the single transferable vote, into local government. It would strengthen governance, increase transparency and improve accountability because there would be more opposition councillors. That might change the membership of the combined authority and would certainly alter the make-up of overview and scrutiny committees Amendment 47 would prevent a one-party state from arising. As more has been devolved in recent years across the UK, so the powers devolved have been accompanied by changes to more proportional voting systems. As more political parties exist and grow stronger, so our governance structures need to reflect that. Proportional representation enables that. They have it in local elections in Scotland. In England, five parties have significant public support in local elections and it is right that the electors who support those parties all feel represented. A system of proportional voting helps not only in delivering fairer overall representation but also, through STV, enables voters to choose an individual as their preference within their party of choice rather than simply having to vote for the candidate selected by that party in their ward Earlier, I mentioned Scotland, where the single transferable vote was used in council elections in 2007 and 2012. In Scotland there are no longer uncontested council seats and there are no one-party states that do not reflect that party’s share of the vote. In England and Wales there are more than 100 councils where one party has more than two-thirds of all seats. Scotland has none. In England in 2011, 24 councils saw 10% or more of their seats uncontested. Scotland has not had an uncontested election since STV was introduced in 2007 I want this Bill to succeed in its broad strategic ambitions but I do not think it will without public support for the governance structure. Hence our concern that local government, combined authorities and elected mayors should all command public support. The elected mayor in this Bill is to be elected by the supplementary vote system. But more broadly, the use of the single transferable vote system in elections would help us to achieve public legitimacy and accountability in the structure of governance. It will prevent a one-party state arising and it will ensure adequate overview and scrutiny. It will almost certainly increase voter turnout because everyone’s vote will count. This amendment is a solution to the problems that we have identified with the democratic legitimacy of the combined authority structure. I hope it will command the Government’s support. I beg to move.