Skip to main content

Method page

Single-Winner Approval: the smallest ballot fix

Keep one MP per constituency. Keep the familiar Westminster map. Change only the instruction on the ballot: approve every candidate you would genuinely be happy to elect.

Single-Winner Approval Voting

This is the smallest version of the idea. Keep one MP per constituency, keep the familiar map, but replace “pick one” with a simpler instruction: approve every candidate you would genuinely be happy to elect.

It does not make Westminster proportional. What it does do is remove vote-splitting, reduce the tactical squeeze, and make it easier for broadly acceptable candidates to win.

Fastest to implement

If Britain wanted the quickest ballot fix

This option keeps the current Westminster map, one-seat constituencies, and the basic count administration. That makes it the easiest approval reform to legislate and explain, even though it does not solve nationwide proportionality on its own.

How You Vote

Your Ballot

Tick all candidates you approve of:

Select candidates to see how your ballot works

What Happens Next

  1. All ballots in the constituency are collected.
  2. Each candidate’s approvals are added up.
  3. The candidate with the highest total wins the seat.
  4. There are no eliminations, transfers, or ranking rules.

Key insight: You can support your favourite candidate without giving up the chance to back another acceptable option.

Why Consider It?

🗳️ Simplest Change

This is the smallest practical change from today’s Westminster elections: keep one MP per constituency, but let voters approve more than one candidate.

🏛️ Keeps Local Representation

Every constituency still elects one local MP, so the existing link between voters and a named representative stays in place.

🎯 Less Tactical Voting

You can support your real favourite and also approve acceptable backup candidates, instead of guessing who is the “least risky” option.

🤝 Broader Winners

Candidates who are acceptable to a wider group of voters are more likely to win than candidates who rely on a narrow but intense base.

How It Works

1

Mark Your Ballot

Tick every candidate you would be happy to see elected in your constituency.

2

Count Approvals

Each tick counts as one approval for that candidate. There is no ranking or transfer.

3

Elect One Winner

The candidate with the most approvals wins the constituency seat.

4

Keep Local Accountability

Your area still has one MP, but that MP is chosen with broader support than under FPTP.

Common Questions

Can it still work well if it isn't proportional?

Yes. Proportionality matters if the main goal is matching party seat shares, but Westminster also needs MPs who can command broad support and help write policy that works for the country as a whole. Approval voting solves vote-splitting, elects the candidate with the highest total approval, and rewards people who can win agreement from a wide range of voters.

That means it can still deliver strong democratic representation, even without being proportional. In a Parliament elected this way, members would on average be there because many people could live with them, not because they dominated a narrow slice of the vote.

What kind of winners does approval voting tend to produce?

It tends to reward candidates with a broad base rather than a narrow but intense one. Because voters can approve several acceptable options, more candidates can run without splitting the vote, and highly polarising candidates have less built-in advantage.

That is one reason many people see it as a strong Westminster option in its own right. It pushes candidates to build wide support across a constituency, which can mean more effective representatives and less leverage for fringe positions.

Does approving more candidates hurt my favourite?

No. Your approval for a backup candidate does not subtract anything from your favourite. Each approved candidate simply gets one approval from you.

How is this different from FPTP?

FPTP forces you to choose one candidate, even if two or three seem acceptable. Approval voting lets you support all acceptable options, which makes tactical voting less necessary and helps broader-consensus candidates win.

Would this be hard for the UK to adopt?

It is probably the easiest change to explain and administer because constituencies, one-seat results, and local accountability all stay the same. The main change is the instruction on the ballot: tick all candidates you approve of.

🎯 The Bottom Line

Single-Winner Approval Voting is a viable Westminster system in its own right: simple to run, strong against vote-splitting, and well suited to electing broadly acceptable MPs.

If the goal is effective local representation and sound policy: keep local MPs, change the ballot, and elect candidates who can command support well beyond a narrow base.