Burnham announces electoral reform commission

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a national commission on electoral reform in his Labour conference speech on September 29, 2026, and said Labour will contest the next general election with a manifesto commitment to change the voting system. He invited all political parties to take part and said he would seek cross-party support for the commission’s work. Burnham did not specify which electoral system should replace the current one, who would lead the commission or when it would begin. The announcement sets out a process for examining reform, rather than a final decision on a new voting method. The proposed change would move Britain away from first-past-the-post, in which the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins. Burnham said the aim was to ensure every vote counts and every voice is heard. He also argued that the current system could allow a party to form a government with 30% of the vote or less, and linked electoral reform to concerns about political turbulence. The next general election is due by 2029. Burnham’s commitment means Labour intends to put a change to the electoral system in its manifesto, but his speech did not identify a specific model.