News

General election 2024 the most disproportional on record

Published

2 years ago

July 5, 2024

THIS general election is the most disproportional on record in terms of votes cast matching seats in Parliament, analysis from the Electoral Reform Society has found.

Yesterday’s election result is the most disproportional in British electoral history according to two separate DV (deviation from proportionality) scores , which are used to measure how proportional elections are in terms of seats in parliament matching the percentage of votes each party receives.

With a DV score of 30, the 2024 election was found to have beaten the previously most disproportional election, which was 2015 with a score of 24, according to the Loosemore-Hanby measure. The third most disproportional result according to this measure is 1983, which had a DV score of 23.

Yesterday’s general election was also found to be the most disproportional on the Gallagher method of DV score , with a score of 24. The second most disproportional election on this measure is 1983 with a score of 20.6.

The results today saw the Labour Party win 64% of seats (412) with just under 34% of the votes. Meanwhile, Reform UK and the Green Party won just 8 seats (just over 1%) between them with over 20% of the vote share combined.

Research by the Electoral Reform Society also showed that Labour won an MP for every 24,000 votes they received, compared to one for every 49,000 for the Lib Dems, one MP for every 56,000 votes for the Conservatives, one for every 485,000 votes for the Greens and one for every 1,000,000 for Reform.

Yesterday’s vote also saw a number of electoral firsts which contributed to how disproportional the result was. For instance, this was the first election where four parties received over 10% of the vote and the first where five parties received over 5%.

It was also the election where Labour and the Conservatives received their joint lowest vote share on record, with a combined 57.4%. The second lowest combined vote share for the two parties was in 2010 when they received 65.1%.

However, this election is not an outlier result. Other recent general elections have produced disproportional results. The last three general elections have seen a winning majority gained on just 36.9% of the vote in 2015, a minority government on 42.4% of the vote in 2017 and an 80-seat majority achieved on a vote share increase of just 1.3 percent in 2019.

Yesterday’s unprecedented disproportional result comes as there is growing – and now majority – support for electoral reform in the country.

Meanwhile, the National Centre for Social Research found trust in politics has recently sunk to record lows, a problem the ERS has long argued is exacerbated by people not feeling their votes count under the First Past the Post voting system

ERS research found that at the last general election in 2019 over 22 million votes (70.8%) didn’t count towards the result, in that they were either cast for a losing candidate or surplus votes for the winner [9].

Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society said: “We have just witnessed the most disproportional election on record in terms of the votes people cast translating into seats in Parliament. It is clear that the British public is already voting as if we have a proportional system. For instance, this was the first election ever where four parties got over 10% of the vote share.

“The two-party voting system no longer reflects the way the country is voting. This is why the First Past the Post voting system used for Westminster is becoming more unstable and producing volatile results, and why millions of people’s votes effectively didn’t count towards securing any representation in Parliament yesterday.

“This disproportionality is now a feature rather than a bug of the current voting system. We now need to move to a proportional voting system for Westminster to ensure that Parliament accurately represents how the country voted, and that everyone’s vote counts towards the result no matter where they live.”

Crime

Man charged with attempted murder after Carmarthen park incident

Published

2 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Tom Sinclair

57-year-old due in court following alleged knife and stalking offences

A MAN has been charged with attempted murder following a serious incident in Carmarthen town centre last week.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that James McKenna, aged 57, from Carmarthen, has been charged with attempted murder, possession of a bladed article in a public place, and stalking.

The charges relate to an incident in Carmarthen Park on Thursday (Jan 29), which prompted a significant emergency services response and caused concern among residents.

Police have not yet released full details of the circumstances, but officers were seen in and around the park area for several hours following the incident while enquiries were carried out.

McKenna is due to appear before Llanelli Magistrates Court on Thursday (Feb 5).

The Herald understands the case involves allegations of both violence and targeted behaviour towards an individual, with stalking listed among the charges.

Public concern

Carmarthen Park is a popular and busy public space used daily by families, dog walkers and joggers, and incidents of this severity are rare.

The news has prompted concern locally, particularly as the alleged offences include possession of a knife in a public place.

Residents have previously raised questions about safety in parks and open spaces across west Wales, especially during darker winter evenings.

Court proceedings

At this stage, the charges remain allegations and the case will now proceed through the courts.

Magistrates will decide whether the case is sent to Crown Court due to the seriousness of the attempted murder charge.

Further details are expected to emerge during Thursday’s hearing.

The Herald will be attending court and will provide updates as they become available.

Crime

Sex offender jailed after living off grid in Pembrokeshire and refusing to register

Published

3 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Court Reporter

Man walked into police station after months avoiding authorities

A CONVICTED sex offender who told police he intended to live “off grid” rather than comply with legal monitoring rules has been jailed after handing himself in at a Pembrokeshire police station.

Christopher Spelman, aged 66, of no fixed address, appeared for sentence at Swansea Crown Court after admitting breaching the notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

The court heard Spelman was released from prison in Dorset on July 4 last year but immediately refused to provide police with an address, despite being legally required to do so within three days.

Instead, he indicated he planned to buy a tent and live outdoors.

Prosecutor Brian Simpson said officers subsequently launched a nationwide search when Spelman failed to make contact with police. Public appeals were issued and his case featured on the television programme Crimewatch.

Detectives believed he had been travelling around the UK using public transport and staying at campsites. He was known to have links to several areas including Merseyside, Manchester, Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire.

His whereabouts remained unknown until January 3 this year, when he walked into Haverfordwest police station and was arrested. It is unclear how long he had been in Pembrokeshire.

Spelman previously served seven years in prison after being convicted in 2014 of 12 counts of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 14. He was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court heard this was not the first time he had failed to comply with the rules. After an earlier release in 2016, he again failed to register his address and avoided police for around five years before being caught.

He has 11 previous convictions for 29 offences.

Defence barrister Andrew Evans described the case as unusual and said his client had long disputed his original conviction and had expressed a wish to live “outside society”.

However, he said Spelman had gradually accepted that he remained subject to court orders and now wanted more stable accommodation and a chance to rebuild his life. The defendant asked the court to impose a custodial sentence so arrangements could be made for his future release.

Judge Geraint Walters noted there were signs Spelman wished to change but warned that any further breaches would result in longer prison terms.

With credit for his guilty plea, Spelman was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.

Crime

Former Wales rugby star admits Christmas Day drink-driving offence

Published

9 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Sarah-Jane Absalom

Ex-Ospreys captain was almost twice over limit in Pembroke town centre

Former Wales back row Jonathan Thomas has admitted driving through Pembroke town centre on Christmas Day when he was almost twice over the drink-drive limit.

This week Haverfordwest magistrates heard that Thomas, 43, was stopped by officers as he drove his Mercedes CLA 220 along The Green, Pembroke, at around 5pm on Christmas Day.

“The officers were very concerned at the manner of his driving, as the car was being driven erratically and was swerving to the other side of the road,” said Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan.

“When Jonathan Thomas got out of the car, the officers could see that he was having difficulty standing and was unsteady on his feet.”

Subsequent breathalyser tests showed Thomas had 62 mcg of alcohol in his system, the legal limit being 35.

Thomas, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the drink-drive charge and was represented in court by solicitor Jess Hill.

“He has family in the area and had travelled to spend time with them on Christmas Day,” she told the magistrates. “He’s very remorseful for his actions and hugely regrets his decision that day.”

Jess Hill concluded by saying that Thomas is currently “between jobs and living off his savings”.

Thomas, who gave his address as Main Road, Bredon, was disqualified from driving for a total of 18 months.

“The length of your disqualification reflects the fact that you were more than a little bit over the limit,” commented the presiding magistrates when imposing sentence.

He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 court surcharge.

The former Wales back row left his role as Swansea RFC head coach at the beginning of December 2025 as a result of ongoing health concerns. He was forced to retire from playing in 2015 on medical advice after being diagnosed with epilepsy and is one of the 390 former rugby union players currently taking part in a concussion lawsuit against the sport’s authorities.

“Long-standing issues linked to the head trauma have caused me some concern recently and it has been impossible for me to give the role everything it needs,” he said in a previous interview with the BBC.

His rugby career started out with Pembroke RFC juniors before moving to Swansea RFC, which he captained when he was 19. He then joined the Ospreys where, over a ten-year period, he won four league titles and an Anglo-Welsh Cup. He was the youngest player to captain the Ospreys and, at the time of leaving, was the joint highest appearance holder, together with Andrew Bishop, on 188 appearances.

His international career saw him play for Wales at Under-16, Youth, Under-19, Under-21 and Sevens levels. He made his senior international debut against Australia in 2003, featured at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and was part of two Six Nations Grand Slam-winning sides in 2005 and 2008. Between 2004 and 2011, Thomas was included in every Wales Six Nations squad. In his appearances for Wales, he scored seven tries.