Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary Labour party offered no real impediment to progress should the prime minister demonstrate sufficient determination to push ahead with legislation for a referendum on the alternative vote. In his speech to conference last year, Gordon Brown clearly committed Labour to a referendum on AV in its next manifesto. But failure to establish these plans in law before the general election will only cast doubt on his sincerity on this question and thus cancel out any positive advantage.
Monday’s meeting of the PLP seems – somewhat predictably – to have failed to deliver a unanimous verdict on whether to introduce legislation before the election. It is no secret that the PLP contains increasingly isolated forces that would defend the existing system, while others want to see the electoral system changed more radically. Jack Straw has promised to reflect on the views expressed, but the fundamental justifications for action have not gone away, and the promised AV referendum remains a position around which the PLP and other Labour candidates could unite ahead of the election.
Cynical opponents of change want to depict electoral reform as an issue of concern only to the ‘chattering classes’ with no real appeal to most ordinary voters. This is a dangerously mistaken view. In the aftermath of the MPs’ expenses crisis, the electorate is in a mood to punish any party that appears to be backtracking on its commitments to deliver genuine political reform. By contrast, David Cameron will be isolated as the leader of the sole party intransigently committed to the status quo. In the event of a Conservative victory, one of his first acts as prime minister would be deny the public its say on increasing the legitimacy of MPs.
If Labour now ducks the opportunity to legislate it would not only let the Tories off the hook, but equally, it would be a relief to the Lib Dems. Polling shows that Labour stands to gain a significant ‘reform dividend’ in marginal Lab/Con seats from tactical voting. It would also be harder for Nick Clegg to maintain a purely hostile attitude towards Labour after the election in the event that the prospect of a historical breakthrough on electoral reform was on the table. It is to be hoped that the cabinet are not about to look this particular gift horse in the mouth and Gordon will exercise leadership.