Residents from South Lakeland and North Lancashire joined people across the UK on Saturday to support a campaign for voting reform. 

As part of Make Votes Matter – the cross-party campaign advocating Proportional Representation (PR) for House of Commons elections – people in Kendal were out and about campaigning for the voting system.

The Make Votes Matter campaign group held a street stall at the Birdcage to hear opinions, answer questions, and invite people to sign a petition to change the current voting system.

And campaigners were well supported with representatives from South Lakes Labour, Westmorland and Lonsdale Liberal Democrats and the Westmorland and Lonsdale Greens joining the stall.

Steve Bavin, who took part, said: “I’m here because I think it’s unfair how many people’s votes don’t make a jot of difference to election results.

“Here in Kendal, we have a reasonably competitive race when electing an MP, though the system forces some people to vote tactically.

“Elsewhere, in so-called safe seats, many people may find that voting is effectively pointless and so don’t bother taking part.”

Jo Stocking, who also took part, said: “Our stall today has shown that ordinary people are ready for a change.

“We’ve had great support from people from all walks of life, young and old – so many people told us that the current system isn’t working.

“The UK is one of the few developed economies that still hasn’t changed to Proportional Representation – it’s time for a fairer voting system in this country fit for the 21st century.”

Make Votes Matter North Lancashire (which also covers South Lakeland) formed in May 2021 and now holds regular meetings.

It is planning a series of campaign events for 2022 across North Lancashire and South Cumbria. Contact mvmnorthlancashire@outlook.com for further details.