How the winner-takes-all voting system has turned on Labour and the Tories

The UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system, used in general and local elections, has historically benefited the Conservative and Labour parties by making it difficult for smaller parties to win seats. However, recent local election results suggest the system is no longer insulating the two major parties from challenges, as Reform and the Greens secured a combined 2,063 council seats—nearly 200 more than Labour and Conservatives combined. According to BBC projections, Reform led with 26% of the vote nationally, followed by the Greens at 18%, while Labour and Conservatives each won just 17%. This marks a record low for the two traditional parties, whose combined vote share dropped below 35% for the first time since 1922. The Liberal Democrats also performed strongly, winning 842 seats, further eroding the dominance of Labour and Conservatives. The system’s impact was most pronounced in wards the parties were defending, where Labour’s support fell by an average of 25 points compared to 2022, while Conservative losses were even steeper. In contrast, smaller parties gained traction by converting votes into seats more effectively, with Reform and the Greens winning despite limited representation in Parliament. This shift reflects a broader trend: fewer than 60% of voters backed Labour or Conservatives in the 2024 general election, the lowest since 1922. The traditional argument that voting for third parties was a ‘wasted vote’ has lost credibility, as Reform and the Greens now hold significant local influence. The results underscore a fundamental change in UK politics, where the two-party system is giving way to a more fragmented landscape.