I won't stop fighting for fairer votes - Peter Black

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 12th Sep 2008

Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat fair votes champion, will tomorrow take the opportunity to keep up the campaign for proportional representation in Welsh elections in a Fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth.

Sitting alongside Scottish Lib Dem Willie Rennie MP and ardent supporters of proportional representation, the Electoral Reform Society, Peter Black will continue to highlight the benefits of fairer voting systems in Wales.

Peter Black narrowly missed an opportunity last June to radically change electoral arrangements in Wales when Labour AMs voted down an LCO calling more power from Westminster to Cardiff on control over local government elections.

Peter Black said:

"Just because Labour AMs voted against more powers for Wales on election arrangements doesn't mean that I'll stop fighting for fairer votes.

"This is not an issue that will go away. More and more people are coming around to the idea of fairer votes through proportional representation rather than the antiquated first past the post system that causes apathy amongst many voters.

"Labour chose to ignore the 2003 Sunderland report that recommended the use of Single Transferable Vote in local government elections from 2008 onwards. Last June, although Assembly Members were aware of the benefits that this fairer system of voting brings democracy, they decided to keep on using the old, unfair and unrepresentative voting system in Wales.

"The Scottish experience of Proportional Representation in their 2007 Council elections is something I would like to see repeated across Wales. The make-up of their local authorities better reflects the votes cast, more women were elected, the electorate was offered more choice of candidates and no councillors were elected unopposed.

"Councils voted-in under proportional representation become more accountable and more transparent in the way they conduct themselves as the voter has more power over who is voted in.

"Proportional representation would mean that wards would be bigger and the electorate would have more choice of candidates, from more political parties, representing the actual political make-up of communities in Wales.

"Proportional representation is also a way of ensuring that people feel a part of the democratic process as no vote is wasted and idle councillors in supposed "safe seats" would have to campaign more effectively to get elected - reinvigorating local politics.

"With STV and proportional representation, gone will be the days when people say - 'I'm not going to vote my vote doesn't count anyway'."

Ends

Fringe ALDC/Electoral Reform Society

When: 20:00 -21:15 Saturday 13th September 2008

Where: Branksome Suite, Bournemouth International Centre

PR for local government

STV, how it works for Scotland and how we're going to get it for England and Wales. Willie Rennie MP, the Electoral Reform Society and local government speakers. Refreshments.