‘Wasted’ votes to kill Westminster voting system

election: 1.7 million wasted crosses on June 8 under the first past the post system

Tens of thousands of “wasted” votes in Dundee should help sound the death knell for Westminster’s first past the post system (FPTP), say campaigners.

A study by the Electoral Reform Society revealed Dundee East had the third highest proportion of votes in Scotland that did not go towards electing an MP.

A total of 31,165 votes in Stewart Hosie’s constituency were among the 1.7 million of wasted crosses marked across Scotland on June 8 under the FPTP system.

The ERS argues that proportional representation eliminates this phenomenon because every vote is made to count through measures like listing more than one preferred candidate.

Published today, the study also suggested the SNP were saved from even steeper losses by FPTP, while Labour’s revival was choked.

Projections from the pressure group put the nationalist return of Commons seats as low as 18 under a proportional method, against the 35 it actually took through FPTP.

A tactical voting surge and the prevalence of tiny majorities, as well as the 22 million wasted votes UK-wide, show the system has failed for the third time in a row, the ERS concluded in the analysis.

The report said Scots voters “appear to have turned in large number to tactical voting strategies in order to break single-party rule”.

Fairer systems that more accurately capture how people voted would have seen the SNP win a maximum of 27 seats and lose their majority north of the border, the ERS said.

It added the revival of its opponents were “not being properly reflected in seats”, with Labour taking just seven MPs despite winning over a quarter of the vote (27.1%).

The Scottish Tories sent 13 candidates to Westminster on the back of a 28.6% vote share.

Darren Hughes, ERS’ chief executive, said FPTP has been given its “third strike” since 2010 with elections feeling “more like a lottery than a real choice”. He said the system is forcing an estimated 6.5 million people to “hold their nose” and vote for parties they do not support in a “broken two-party system”.

“This surge in tactical voting – double the rate of 2015 – meant voters shifted their party allegiances at unprecedented rates.

“There are a wide range of systems where votes are not thrown on the electoral scrapheap.”

An SNP spokeswoman said they support replacing FPTP with PR for the Commons elections.