Neal Lawson’s opinion piece (After 44 years as a Labour member, I spent 18 months facing expulsion. This is what the party got wrong, 21 November) was a stark reminder of the risks of party tribalism to those who espouse liberal, progressive values. As a lifelong political activist reinstated into the Green party after my expulsion for supporting tactical voting to unseat a senior Tory, I know first‑hand the risks of political tribalism. This entrenched behaviour deprived progressives of any political representation in my own borough of Waverley in south‑west Surrey for many years.
With the unique exception of the circumstances of the last general election, our first-past-the-post voting system hands victories to the right despite its minority support. The election of a Conservative party leader from the extreme right, capable of coming to a deal with Reform UK, signals the potential for a seismic shift to the extreme right in the next general election if progressives fail to collaborate.
In the 1930s, the Popular Front in France united against the rise of fascism. Although it only held back the tide, we must follow that example now. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National party must set aside their differences to prevent the rise of the far right.
We must work together, united by a commitment to a fairer, greener and more inclusive society to deliver proportional representation – a system that can truly reflect the progressive majority and end the cycle of wasted votes. We must set aside our differences for our democracy and our planet, and for future generations.
Steve Williams
Green party councillor; Co-chair of South West Surrey Compass
• I want to applaud Neal Lawson’s article, but as a member of Compass I would, wouldn’t I? However, campaigning with Compass on the streets of Oxfordshire during this year’s election campaign, I learned more about how disenchanted people are with politics. I share much of the feeling of there being no genuine democracy here, of our views being heard only in the run-up to an election, and where the percentage of people who bother to vote at all is ever decreasing.
Labour must hear this if it wants any chance of winning a second term. It needs to actually listen and act on what it learns. Trust needs to be rebuilt, and that means starting at the foundations. Shifting to proportional representation is a vital part of that, and Labour party members have been crying out for it over many years.
Jill Green
Oxford
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