'FAIR votes' campaigners are demonstrating in Reading tomorrow, demanding electoral reform.

They say the General Election result shows that the current voting system is broken because the parties' performances have no bearing on how many seats they won.

The demonstration will be outside the Civic Centre in Dusseldorf Way from noon-12.30pm.

Campaigner Peter Burt said: "The one thing that is definitely broken in Britain is our outdated and unfair voting system.

"The number of votes cast do not reflect the number of seats a party gets in Parliament, and in large parts of the country the system means that there is no realistic chance of anyone other than the two main parties with their similar policies winning. This is neither fair nor democratic.

"Tuesday's demo has not been arranged by any organisation or political party. The idea came when a few of us were chatting about the election results over the weekend. The results don't reflect the true pattern of voting, and it is obvious that we need a new system of voting in this country."

He said the campaigners will wear orange ribbons and clothing to reflect the spirit of Ukraine's Orange Revolution for political reform in 2005.

The campaigners, inspired by a similar protest in London on Saturday, want a new election under proportional representation within a year.

Lib Dem Gareth Epps, who lost out to Rob Wilson in the Reading East election, encouraged people to make their voices heard at the demonstration and said: "There is a growing mood across the county that now is the moment for serious electoral reform. I hope that those who are there remember that the stumbling block is not Reading Borough Council or the Liberal Democrats, but the Conservatives. Those wanting to see reform should be addressing their views to local Conservatives."

Most Conservatives oppose proportional representation, saying it could cut the link between a constituency and its MP and would lead to backroom deals after every election.

But Dr Ken Ritchie, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: "Whole counties and cities are now the personal property of one party. Once again First-Past-the-Post has generated results that stretch the idea of 'representative' democracy to breaking point. The Single Transferable Vote would be a major step to restore credibility back to representative government. That's what is at stake in the current coalition talks - a parliament that actually looks like Britain."

The Green Party's first Reading councillor, Rob White, wrote on his blog: "We have never been closer to electoral reform and getting a fairer system in the form of proportional representation. But I fear that if we don't keep up the pressure on the Lib Dems, Tories and Labour this opportunity will slip between our fingers! So come along, and bring a friend family member or work colleague."

The ERS has a guide to voting systems at: www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id=5

With 649 of 650 constituencies declared, the Conservatives took 36.1% of the vote and 306 seats, Labour 29% (258 seats), the Lib Dems 23% (57 seats), UKIP 3.1% (0 seats), the BNP 1.9% (0 seats), the SNP 1.7% (6 seats), the Greens 1% (1 seat), Sinn Fein 0.6% (5 seats), the Democratic Unionist Party 0.6% (8 seats) and Plaid Cymru 0.6% (3 seats).