Democracy in a nutshell,
In less democratic countries, elections are often demanded by dissidents; therefore the most basic electoral-reform project in such countries is to achieve a transfer of power to a democratically elected government without bloodshed and minimal civil disobedience, e.g. in South Africa in 1994.
South Africa's case highlights the complexity of reform: such projects tend to require gradual (medium or longer term) changes to national or other constitutions, and to alter balances of power. Electoral reforms are often politically painful.
- For 19th century reforms, see The Reform Bills. Also the Reform Act 1832, the Reform Act 1867 and the Representation of the People Act 1884.
- Non of us should forget the struggle of Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist and helper of the British suffragette movement, ensuring that women won the right to vote.
The United Kingdom has generally used first-past-the-post (FPTP) for many years, but there have been several attempts at reform. A 1910 Royal Commission on Electoral Systems recommended AV be adopted for the Commons. A very limited introduction of single transferable vote (STV) came in the Government of Ireland Act 1914. A Speaker's Conference on electoral reform in January 1917 unanimously recommended a mix of AV and STV for elections to the House of Commons. However, that July the Commons rejected STV by 32 votes in the committee stage of the Representation of the People Bill, and by 1 vote substituted alternative vote (AV). The House of Lords then voted for STV, but the Commons insisted on AV. In a compromise, AV was abandoned and the Boundary Commission were asked to prepare a limited plan of STV to apply to 100 seats. This plan was then rejected by the Commons, although STV was introduced for the university constituencies.
The British Constitution
The United Kingdom does not currently have a codified constitution. However, a number of texts are considered to be constitutional, such that the "constitution of the United Kingdom" or "British constitution" may refer to a number of historical and momentous laws and principles that make up the country's body politic. Thus the term "UK constitution" is sometimes said to refer to an "unwritten" or uncodified constitution. The British constitution primarily draws from four sources: statute law (laws passed by the legislature), common law (laws established through court judgments), parliamentary conventions, and works of authority. Similar to a constitutional document, it also concerns both the relationship between the individual and the state and the functioning of the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
