Chingford residents met with MP Iain Duncan Smith to demand an overhaul to Britain’s “broken” voting system.

Residents and members of the pressure group Make Votes Matter are concerned the current voting system is unfair and unrepresentative.

The a cross-party campaig, that want to change the UK’s voting system, aired their concersns to the Tory MP for Chingford and Woodford Green.

A spokesman for Make Votes Matter said: “The first past the post system denies a voice to thousands of voters in Chingford and to millions across the UK, [we] want to see it replaced by a form of Proportional Representation.”

The first past the post system is used in both local and general elections in the UK. The candidate who receives the majority share of votes in a constituency becomes its representative.

In proportional representation, seats are awarded according to the share of the votes a candidate gets.

For example, say there are 10 seats available in a local council.

In this case, if Labour win 50 per cent of the vote, they will get five seats. If the Conservatives win 40 per cent of the vote, they will get four seats. If the Liberal Democrats win 10 per cent of the vote, they will get one seat.

Make Votes Matter argue proportional representation is a fairer voting system.

The group said they were grateful to the MP for taking the time to discuss this issue with them, as part of a nation-wide push by voters seeking to persuade their representatives to support proportional representation.

Klina Jordan, a spokesman for Make Votes Matter, said: “Proportional Representation simply means that Parliament fairly reflects the voters – something most developed countries already take for granted.

“We’re delighted that this meeting has taken place. Polls have long shown that most people want PR, but advances in democracy like this only happen when people take action to demand them.”

In October 2017, Parliament debated Proportional Representation when a petition started by Make Votes Matter gained over 100,000 signatures.

In February 2018, the group organised Hungry for Democracy; a 24-hour hunger strike to commemorate the centenary of women first winning the vote.

On October 29 2010, Parliament voted against introducing proportional representation.

Mr Duncan Smith said: “During our recent meeting, I explained I would not support changing the current first past the post voting system for a number of reasons.

“I accept that there is no perfect system for deciding who should govern us, however the first past the post on balance works well for the UK.  It is also cost efficient to administer and is relatively less bureaucratic than other systems.

“I believe that proportional representation too often leaves the result messy and indecisive. One only needs to look at the recent elections in Holland, Germany and Italy to see how long it can take to form a government, because of the lack of a clear winner."