Record support for changing the electoral system

I previously reported that the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, perhaps the gold standard of political attitudes research in the UK, had shown support for electoral reform in the House of Commons passing a symbolic threshold:

The majority of British people want to see the first-past-the-post electoral system scrapped for the first time since records began.

Some 51 per cent of people are in favour of switching to a form of proportional representation (PR), while 44 per cent want the status quo, the annual British Social Attitudes survey has revealed.

The latest data from the BSA has shown this growing further, alongside support for other reforms:

A record 53% now support changing the electoral system to one that is fairer to smaller parties.
Support for changing the system is as high as 62% among those who ‘almost never’ trust governments.
As many as 49% now favour some form of devolution for England, more than ever before.
56% of those who ‘almost never’ trust politicians support English devolution.

The exact level of support for electoral reform varies with question wording, with the BSA producing lower levels than some other wordings. The key point therefore is the trend. So here’s that electoral reform number in historic context:

The wording the BSA uses is:

Some people say we should change the voting system for general elections to the UK House of Commons to allow smaller political parties to get a fairer share of MPs. Others say that we should keep the voting system for the House of Commons as it is to produce effective government.

Which view comes closer to your own?

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