What are the priorities for our electoral system? Do we need electoral reform? Webinar with Rachel Sylvester, Alex Sobel MP, and Tom Brake

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Webinar date: Thursday 19th November, 2.00pm

With the announcement of the National Commission on Electoral Reform, Britain now has the opportunity to consider different voting systems. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different options? Which best fits the needs of the United Kingdom in a multi-party system, providing the British people with the representation in Westminster that they want. Is it right that a party can win a majority on 30% of the vote or is First Past the Post still fit for purpose, providing a bulwark against weak coalition led Government?

Rachel Sylvester, Political Editor of the Observer, will be putting these points to Alex Sobel MP, who called for the creation of such a Commission as part of the current Representation of the People Bill and Tom Brake of Unlock Democracy, long term campaigner on electoral reform.

What should the National Commission consider? Would electoral reform get rid of tactical voting? And perhaps, most importantly, do the public agree that electoral reform is necessary and if not, how can they be convinced?

Chair | Rachel Sylvester

Rachel Sylvester is Political Editor of The Observer. She was previously a columnist and interviewer at The Times and chair of The Times Education, Health and Crime and Justice Commissions. She was named political journalist of the year at the British Press Awards in 2016 and 2017.

Alex Sobel MP

Alex Sobel is the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Leeds Central and Headingley. He chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections, which campaigns for a more proportional voting system, along with addressing the influence of dark money and disinformation. It is parliament's largest All-Party Group, with around 160 members. In September 2026 he led the largest amendment to any piece of legislation in this parliament, calling for a National Commission on Electoral Reform - a proposal which has since been announced by the Prime Minister during his Conference speech in Liverpool. He also chairs the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Ukraine All-Party-Parliamentary Group, as well as serving as the Government's Trade Envoy to Ukraine. 

Tom Brake

The Rt Hon Tom Brake is the Director of Unlock Democracy which campaigns for reforms in the UK including proportional representation and House of Lords reform. He was formerly Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesman and MP for Carshalton and Wallington. He also served as a local Councillor on Hackney and Sutton Councils.

He read physics at Imperial College, London and went to school in France and is a French speaker. He is a longstanding trustee of Ecolocal which delivers a broad range of environmental sustainability services that are designed to help people move toward more pro-environmental behaviours and advises Bioregional, an award-winning sustainability organisation which developed the One Planet Living framework. To take his mind off things, he runs and swims.

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Date/time: 19th November 2026, 14:00- 15:00

Location: Online

Cost: £0.00

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