More than a quarter of the House of Commons has signed an amendment calling for a national commission on electoral reform, in what backers are describing as an “open goal” for Andy Burnham, the likely incoming prime minister.
The amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, tabled by Labour MP Alex Sobel, has attracted 166 signatures, making it the most-signed amendment to any piece of proposed legislation since the 2024 general election. A total of 88 Labour MPs have backed the bill.
This development means the amendment has surpassed the 164 signatures gathered by Meg Hillier’s reasoned amendment to the government’s welfare bill in June/July 2025, which triggered a tortured climbdown from the government.
Supporters of the electoral reform amendment span eight political parties as well as independents, including Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, Plaid Cymru, Scottish National Party (SNP), Alliance, Your Party and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MPs.
The Representation of the People Bill, which proposes extending the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds among other measures, is set to return to parliament next week.
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections has described the amendment as a straightforward win for Andy Burnham, who has previously championed both proportional representation (PR) and the idea of a national commission. Burnham is so far the only declared candidate in the race to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister.
Alex Sobel, who chairs the fair elections APPG, has argued that the commission would be a signal to “break the status quo”.
Sobel said: “My amendment to establish a national commission on electoral reform is now the most supported amendment this parliament with 166 signatories from eight parties, half of whom are Labour.
“MPs still have five days left to sign and it’s clear with the change of government coming that the commission is not just a clear signal to break the status quo but hugely popular with both MPs and the public.”
Beccy Cooper, a prominent figure on Labour’s “soft left”, called the amendment a “golden opportunity for the incoming prime minister.”
Copper stated: “PR has been central to [Burnham’s] political analysis and remedy for Britain’s ailments for years, so this is about much more than just voting reform now – it’s about authenticity, trust, and showing he means what he says.”
Chris Curtis, who founded the Labour Growth Group (LGG), said that Labour MPs were now “clamouring” for electoral reform.
Curtis said: “You don’t have to be Harry Kane to see what an open goal this is for him. He should launch a commission in his first 100 days – so he can focus on his other priorities and bringing growth and hope to Britain.”
Burnham endorsed the idea of a national commission on electoral reform in an address to Labour conference last year. He argued that proportional representation “would lay the ground for a new politics [and] a better conversation with the public”.
Burnham further contended that electoral reform would precede economic reform and lead to “some of the structural changes this country needs to make.”
He stated: “What I think a move to a proportional system would do is it would allow new politics to come in, where parties that can agree can set a long term approach so repairing the basics, building the council and social homes that we need as a country over a 10 year period.”
Burnham repeated his support for electoral reform during the June 2026 Makerfield by-election.
In December 2024, the House of Commons voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.
A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.
Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post [FPTP] is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour Party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.
“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”
In January 2025, Rushanara Ali, the then democracy minister, told the commons that there are “no plans” to change FPTP for national contests.
Ali said: “The [FPTP] system, while not perfect, provides for… a direct relationship between members of parliament and their local constituency.”
In September 2025, the APPG for fair elections published a “ready to go” blueprint for an independent review of the FPTP electoral system. Sobel described the proposal as “a ready to go plan to independently review how parliament is elected, promote a national conversation, and build consensus on a way forward”.
