May missed majority by 0.0017%

THERESA May could have won a majority if only 0.0017 per cent more voters had backed her, a report has revealed.

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) found the Conservatives would have secured an absolute majority on the basis of 533 extra votes in the nine most marginal constituencies. A working majority could have been achieved on a mere 75 more votes in the right places.

The 2017 general election saw an increase in very marginal seats, with 11 constituencies won by fewer than 100 votes. North East Fife was held by the SNP by only two votes.

In the report, the ERS said: ‘Though several high-profile seats changed hands... only 99 of 650 seats actually elected a new representative (12 of whom were former MPs), and only 70 seats (10.8 per cent) changed party hands in spite of significant volatility.

‘Many seats saw massively increased majorities for the incumbent, meaning for many voters the place in which they vote is ever more unlikely to be represented by a different party. Voters in key marginals experience a very different election to the rest of the country.’

Elections are now more like a lottery than a real choice, with 22million votes cast in June having no impact on the result, the ERS claimed.

A spokesman said: ‘For the third time in a row, Westminster’s voting system has failed to do what it says on the tin – produce a strong and stable government. June’s election has shown first-past-thepost is unable to cope with people’s changing voting habits.’

The Electoral Reform Society revealed also that the votes of two-thirds of the 1.8million who voted in Scotland had no impact on the result. Labour won 27 per cent of the votes cast in Scotland but got only 12 per cent of the seats, while the SNP won 37 per cent of the votes cast but secured almost 60 per cent of the seats.

The report adds: ‘Voters in Scotland appear to have turned to tactical voting strategies to break single-party rule. Nine of the ten largest overturned majorities were in Scotland, including Banff and Buchan where a majority of over 14,000 for the SNP turned into a majority for the Conservative Party of 3,600.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘Firstpast-the-post is a voting system that offers a robust method of electing MPs.’