Priti Patel is back in the spotlight. It was recently targeted by harassment allegations against its teams and is today heavily criticized. After the mayor announced his plan to change the electoral system, he was accused by Labor opposition of “completely ignoring devolution”. Tony Blair, who was elected Prime Minister in 1997, carried out reforms in favor of devolution. It is elected by universal suffrage by transferring decision-making power from parliament to a devolved regional assembly. It is this tradition that the Secretary of State for Home Affairs has been accused of insulting.
The Minister announced measures to abandon the “fill-vote” system, which has been in place since 2000, and move towards a “pre-office first” system from 2024. Under the current electoral system, voters have the right to a first and second choice. If no candidate gets an absolute majority in the first round, then only the two candidates with the most votes run. We add to their score the number of ballots that appear as a second choice. It is one of the two with a majority of first and second choice. With the first post-election past departing from any option, the voter will select only one candidate, the elected official who then receives the highest number of votes.
The Electoral Reform Association said the minister wanted to return to the “outdated electoral system”. Priti Patel said the planned changes should be ensured by government law. Therefore, the next local elections on May 6 will not be affected.
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