Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner faces accusations of orchestrating an electoral “stitch-up” after announcing plans to abandon the first-past-the-post voting system for mayoral elections in favour of a European-style supplementary vote system.
The proposed changes, set to be implemented through the English Devolution Bill currently before Parliament, come after Reform UK secured stunning victories in the inaugural mayoral races for Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire in May. Former Conservative MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns won Greater Lincolnshire with a majority of more than 39,000 votes, whilst former Olympic boxing champion Luke Campbell secured Hull & East Yorkshire for Reform.
A Reform spokesman condemned the move as a “deeply cynical attempt to diminish the success of Reform,” adding: “Labour is now trying to stitch up next year’s mayoral elections. We are on track to replicate our successes this May in next year’s elections, so it’s no wonder they are doing this now.”
Under the supplementary vote system, which Rayner plans to reinstate, voters express both a first and second preference for candidates. If no candidate achieves over 50 per cent on first preferences, all but the top two are eliminated and second preferences redistributed to determine the winner.
The system was used to elect London mayors including Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and current mayor Sadiq Khan until the Conservative government replaced it with first-past-the-post through the Elections Act 2022. Khan won his 2021 re-election with 40 per cent of first preference votes, rising to 55.2 per cent after second preferences were counted.
Reform’s May victories marked a watershed moment in British local politics. The party captured overall control of both Lincolnshire and Staffordshire county councils, with their projected national vote share of 30 per cent exceeding UKIP’s previous high of 23 per cent in 2013.
The government has listened to Labour MPs and mayors on this issue,” said Alex Sobel, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections and Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley. He argued that first-past-the-post had “failed to fairly represent voters” and “undermined the ability of mayors to speak for their whole communities.”
The Electoral Reform Society welcomed the proposed change, stating: “The Supplementary Vote stops candidates winning on low levels of support, but doesn’t need them to get half the vote.” The organisation argued that the system encourages “a more positive style of campaigning as candidates desire the second preferences of third parties.
Recent polling suggests Reform UK would benefit significantly from the current first-past-the-post system. The party is polling at approximately 30 per cent nationally, potentially enough to win under the existing rules given vote splits between Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens.
The change represents a reversal of reforms introduced by the Conservative government in 2022. Ministers at the time argued first-past-the-post provided clearer democratic accountability, though critics suggested the move was politically motivated following Conservative defeats in mayoral races.
Institute for Government researcher Jill Rutter warned that first-past-the-post could “jeopardise the democratic principles of a Mayor” given their executive powers and control over substantial budgets. “We’ve seen MPs elected on less than a quarter of the vote. How could a Mayor represent all of their city, if they were only elected by one small part of it?” she noted.
The supplementary vote system has historical precedent in London elections. In the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, 72.01 per cent of Londoners supported an elected mayor using this voting method. The system remained in place for over two decades until the Conservative reforms.
Rayner defended the broader devolution agenda, stating: “We were elected on a promise of change, not just for a few areas cherry-picked by a Whitehall spreadsheet, but for the entire country. It was never going to be easy to deliver the growth our country desperately needed with the inheritance we were dumped with.”
The Deputy Prime Minister added: “But that’s why we are opting to devolve, not dictate, and delivering a bill that will rebalance decade-old divides and empower communities. We’re ushering in a new dawn of regional power and bringing decision-making to a local level so that no single street or household is left behind and every community thrives from our Plan for Change.
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, introduced to Parliament on 10 July, encompasses wider reforms beyond voting systems. The legislation aims to transfer significant powers from Westminster to regional authorities, including enhanced planning, housing and transport responsibilities.
Labour MP Dawn Butler has already announced she is considering running for London mayor in 2028, as speculation mounts over whether Khan will seek an unprecedented fourth term. The current mayor, who has held office since 2016, has not clarified his intentions.
The proposed voting system change requires parliamentary approval through the English Devolution Bill. If passed, it would apply to all future mayoral elections in England, potentially affecting races scheduled for 2026 in newly created combined authorities.
Ministers have not specified an implementation timeline, though sources suggest the changes could take effect before the next round of mayoral elections. The legislation is expected to face scrutiny in both Houses of Parliament, with Reform and Conservative MPs likely to oppose the voting system provisions.
The controversy highlights broader tensions over England’s evolving democratic architecture as devolution expands beyond traditional metropolitan areas into counties and regions previously governed through different structures.
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Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner meets Metro Mayors – Image by HM Treasury, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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