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Dear John,

Momentum is building behind calls for a National Commission on Electoral Reform (NCER).

More than 60 MPs have now backed an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill calling on the Government to assess the case for establishing the NCER.

This shows how far the debate has moved.

For some time, we’ve argued that Britain needs an NCER - a serious, independent process to examine how our voting system is functioning in an increasingly multi-party political landscape.

Under First-Past-the-Post, governments can win large parliamentary majorities on a minority of the vote, while millions of votes have little practical impact on the outcome. As politics becomes more fragmented, those problems are becoming harder to ignore.

The amendment now before Parliament reflects growing recognition across Westminster that the status quo is no longer working as intended.

But it is important to be clear about what this amendment would - and would not - do.

Because of the rules governing what amendments can be attached to this Bill, this particular amendment would not establish a National Commission itself. Instead, it would require ministers to look at the proposal and report back to Parliament. That means the Government could still choose to dismiss the idea entirely.

Even so, this matters. Parliamentary change rarely happens in a single moment, and this amendment is part of a growing effort to build support for electoral reform in Westminster. The debate is moving - and there will be further opportunities in the weeks and months ahead to continue making the case for the NCER.

That is why your support is crucial.

Thousands of you have already signed our petition or written to your MP calling for the NCER. Thank you. Every message sent and every name added has helped move this issue further up the political agenda and show that concern about the state of our democracy extends far beyond Westminster.

The fact that this amendment has now reached Parliament shows that pressure works. But unless that pressure continues to grow, the Government will find it easy to set the issue aside.

If you have not yet signed the petition ([link removed]) or contacted your MP ([link removed]) , now is the moment to do it.
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Open Britain helped develop the case for the NCER because we believe an issue as fundamental as how we elect our MPs should be considered openly, fairly and on the basis of evidence.

Donations from supporters like you help us keep making the case for electoral reform as this debate continues, so please consider donating today if you can.

Thank you for all you do,

Cathy Monaghan

Head of Strategy and Campaigns, Open Britain
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