LEWISHAM Council has agreed proportional representation as the new electoral system for the borough.

The system is currently used for elections to the Greater London Assembly, Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

Under proportional representation (PR), political parties' shares of council seats are matched more closely to their share of votes across the borough.

The council, which gave the system the thumbs-up on October 31, is the first local authority to take this step. One of the aims of PR is to allow more effective scrutiny of majority decisions on the council.

But the council will not be elected entirely through PR. The actual system to be implemented is called the Additional Member System (AMS).

AMS was suggested by the London School of Economics Public Policy Group, which was commissioned by the council's chief executive, Barry Quirk, to carry out a study of the best options for Lewisham.

Under AMS, 36 councillors will be elected in 18 wards using the current first-past-the-post method, resulting in two councillors per ward.

Six councillors will also be elected in each of the boroughs' three parliamentary constituencies using a party list. These 18 councillors, a third of the total 54, will ensure a degree of PR across the borough.

Lewisham mayor Councillor Dave Sullivan said: "Lewisham Council is committed to improving the way it is structured to provide a fair and effective representation of the electorate. The decision to introduce PR demonstrates how Lewisham Council remains at the forefront of local government modernisation.

"Democracy works best when it is clear who is in charge and those in charge are held to account by a strong opposition."

The council will now begin discussions with the Government about how and when to implement the new system.

November 13, 2001 12:41

Adrian Kwintner