Tag Archives: compulsory voting

Last week, Andy Burnham became Labour leader and thus Prime Minister. Labour hope that his leadership will reverse the party’s political misfortunes and poor polling under Keir Starmer, while many hope that his new policy priorities and governing style would bring about vital change. Electoral reform advocates hope that such change will include Proportional Representation, given his past and recent vocal support for it and the proposal of an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill calling for a National Commission on Electoral Reform. However, the latest speculated change, as reported by several outcomes, may come in the form of compulsory voting.

Compulsory voting, otherwise known as universal civic duty or mandatory voting, is the requirement that all registered voters must participate in elections. At present, twenty-one countries have compulsory laws, from free multiparty democracies such as Australia to the one-party dictatorship of North Korea. It may or may not be enforced, with potential penalties (outside the DPRK) including fines, loss of the right to vote, the denial of licenses or passports, or nothing. Registered voters may be exempted because of age, illiteracy, illness, disability, religious objection, occupation, housing status or force majeure (circumstances beyond personal control).

The proposed introduction of compulsory voting under Burnham is disconcerting due to the actions of past Labour Prime Ministers, notably Tony Blair and Starmer himself. They endorsed PR while in opposition, whether during their leadership campaigns or as part of their party’s policy platform. However, once they got into power with huge majorities granted to them by First Past the Post, they either failed to deliver on it citing other priorities or launched make-work activity such as the Jenkins Commission to give the impression that change was coming.