Home Secretary Jack Straw told MPs the 'open list' system, which peers backed in an amendment to the European Parliamentary Elections Bill, led to voters having less choice.

Jack Straw: Less choice for voters

Last week, a cross-party alliance of peers defeated the government by 165 votes to 140 in supporting a move to allow voters to choose individual candidates as well as parties.

The Lords amendment was rejected by 338 votes to 131.

The bill will now return to the Lords, where peers will have to decide whether to risk confrontation by insisting on their amendment.

Under the government's 'closed list' system, electors are only able to vote for a party in the huge regional constituencies.

Candidate's chances of being elected will depend on their party's voting score and their position on the list of runners drawn up by their party.

Mr Straw told MPs the government's favoured system would mean less "eccentricities" in results.

Under the open list system, candidates from the same party effectively competed against themselves, he said.

Mr Straw said: "Paradoxically, you end up with less voter choice under the open list system than under the closed list system."

That was because they could vote for popular candidates who would still not get elected because of the mathematical calculations involved in adding up the number of votes for each party, Mr Straw said.

The closed list system gave "clarity" and also "a degree of fairness", he said.

'Open list lottery'

Mr Straw also warned an open list system could allow prejudiced voting discriminating against ethnic minority candidates.

The open list was "much more of a lottery for the voter", he said.

Shadow Home Secretary Sir Norman Fowler said: "The list system as proposed lets electors vote for a party, while candidates are determined by internal party choice.

"Why should the public have candidates foisted upon them in this way?"

Several Labour MPs brought up the use of closed lists for selecting candidates for next year's elections to the Welsh Assembly which led to claims party managers were ruling out left-wing dissenters in favour of moderates.

Dr John Marek (Wrexham) asked: "In Wales there has been a candidate put on the list that ordinary Labour party members didn't know was in contention, wasn't being considered and was a complete surprise to everyone in north Wales when this list was produced."

Llew Smith (Blaenau Gwent) said if that system had been applied during the times of two of his predecessors in the constituency, Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot, neither would have been selected.

Llew Smith warned of the dangers of the closed list system

The Home Secretary said Labour's selection methods were "not a matter for this House".

Winding up for the opposition, James Clappison said the closed system was "alien" to Britain's political tradition.

He said: "We would prefer retention of the first-past-the-post system.

"The closed list is a system ripe for cronyism with central party control."

Replying, junior Home Office Minister George Howarth defended the proposals, saying: "No electoral system is perfect.

"The most important thing is that we choose one that produces the fairest result, which this one will.

"It's the best available and I think in the long run it will prove the case."