The fact that the two largest political parties in Great Britain still adhere to the single-member district system means that new political parties and new voices cannot penetrate the British Parliament.
In each of the more than 650 districts, the candidate with the most votes wins the single parliamentary seat, but the votes for parties are not summed up on a nationwide scale. For many years, more and more experts have unsuccessfully called for the introduction of a (proportional) representation system in the House of Commons.
The British Green MEP Scott Ainslie (50) is frustrated that the British Greens received more than two million votes in the last parliamentary elections in 2017, yet secured only one seat. He blames the Labour Party ('the only social-democratic party in the world!') and the Conservatives for still holding on to this undemocratic, archaic system.
To prevent Boris Johnson's Conservatives from gaining a majority, the Green Party, the Lib Dems, and nationalists in Wales have formed an electoral alliance in more than sixty districts. In these districts, they do not compete against each other. Two parties withdraw their candidates in favor of a third party and have called on their voters to vote for that third party's candidate. It is expected that, as a result, the Lib Dems can win about thirty more seats across Great Britain, and the Greens about ten.
āOur political system still dates back to the time of the nobility, the large landowners, and the English class society. There are districts where nothing has changed for a hundred years. Politics and governance are still 'far away in London' for too many Britons. Democracy and constitutional law are barely taught in schools,ā Ainslie says. He would like political science to be included earlier and more often in the school curriculum.
The Green Party has made climate change and environmental policy the main focus of their election campaign. For a long time, the British elections seemed to revolve only around whether or not to have Brexit, the Conservativesā flagship issue, but in recent weeks a shift has been noticeable. Labour has succeeded in making the future of hospitals and the National Health Service their issue, and the Lib Dems are strongly opposed to leaving the EU.
The British Greens, with their environmental focus, align with the pro-climate growth of many āgreenā parties in Europe, such as in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany. Even the European Union has declared the Green Deal the main theme for the coming years. In British politics, the Green Party has yet to achieve a similar breakthrough, although Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, and Welsh nationalists have also prominently included āenvironment and climateā in their programs.
Regarding EU membership, the Greens take an intermediate position between the Lib Dems and Labour. The Lib Dems want to immediately stop the entire Brexit process and remain in the EU. Labour wants to negotiate a smaller Brexit deal with Brussels and put the outcome to voters in a referendum. Labour will take a neutral stance in such a consultation. The Greens want ā just like the Lib Dems ā to remain in the EU but will advocate for 'Remain' in such a second referendum.
āOur country needs healing, recovery, repair. Brexit, UKIP, Farage, and Johnson have broken too much over the past years. Communities have been torn apart. Families separated. This country needs a healing process. Voters themselves should be able to conclude that with their own vote. That is why, as Greens, we support remaining in the EU but also a second referendum,ā Ainslie said in his office in South Londonās Brixton.