General Election Results 2017

22 July 2017

Thanks to everyone who voted for us in 2017!

We influence public opinion and other parties’ policies by the strength of our vote so every vote does matter, and we aim to build on these results in future elections.

West Dorset

Our results in West Dorset in the 2017 general election mirrored the national picture for the Green Party with our  vote share at 2.7% down on our 2015 share of 5.7%,  although still higher than previous elections in 2010 and 2005.

Thanks go to our excellent candidate, Kelvin Clayton, who performed brilliantly at hustings and in the press, and to everyone else who worked on the campaign.

In 2015 we received support from people who saw through the failing austerity policy of the coalition government. In 2017 some of these voters most probably switched to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.

The picture more generally was that UKIP didn’t stand in West Dorset in 2017 (they polled 13% in 2015). The Conservatives polled 56%, (up by 5%) and Labour 18% (up by 8%), Lib Dems 24% (up 2%) and Greens 2.7% (down by 3%).

Full results from Wikipedia:

 

South Dorset

In South Dorset our share of the vote at 4.4% was very similar to the 2015 result. This bucked the national trend and made South Dorset the Green Party’s 11^th highest performing constituency nationally. Only the Greens in Bristol West performed better in the South West of England. This can be attributed to building on our strong local election results and the presence of two county councillors in the constituency, and also the popularity of our candidate, Dr Jon Orrell, who is a well known GP, born and bred in Weymouth!

The picture more generally was that UKIP didn’t stand in South Dorset in 2017 (they polled 15% in 2015). The Conservatives polled 56%, (up by 7%) and Labour 34% (up by 9%), Lib Dems 6% and Greens 4.4%.

Full results from Wikipedia:

 

 

Electoral Reform

The big obstacle facing smaller parties like the Green Party in general elections is the electoral system of First Past the Post. This unfair and outdated system encourages non-Tory voters to vote tactically for the party they think most likely to beat the Conservatives. It devalues people’s real wishes; it distorts politics both locally and nationally with most attention devoted to marginal constituencies; and it turns people off politics if they believe that theirs is a “safe seat” for the Tories.

To have a good society we need citizens to be engaged and for their votes to be fairly reflected in the parliament that results.

So we favour a Proportional Representation voting system, as do the majority of the UK public.  Examples of PR are:

- STV (Single Transferable Vote) as used in Scottish Parliament elections and the elections for the London Assembly.

- and AMS (Additional Member System, sometimes called MMS, the Mixed Member System) as used in Germany and New Zealand.

It has been shown that countries which use PR have a more equal society and higher voter turnouts. Every country with more than 40% women in its main legislative chamber uses PR.

More information on PR can be found in this compelling report produced by the Labour Campaign for PR.

Labour Party policy is currently to keep the unfair FPTP system against the wishes of 75% of their members. The question is: will Labour endorse a fair voting system in the interests of democracy and the country? Or will it now ignore democratic issues and believe it can win and hang on to power under an unfair and destructive system?

You can join the campaign for PR by supporting a non-party political organisation such as Make Votes Matter.

Meanwhile, the Green Party will continue to stand up for what is fair and just - join us!

 

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