UK Prime Minister Burnham Announces Electoral Reform Commission and Election Pledge

At Labour's party conference in Liverpool on September 29, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a national commission on electoral reform and invited all political parties to join its work. He said Labour would enter the next general election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system. Burnham argued that the current system could allow a government to take office with under 30% of votes and said electoral reform should be considered across party lines. His speech did not identify a replacement voting method, and the announcement does not itself change election law.