Call for Westminster vote review

A campaign group is calling for a review of Westminster elections in Northern Ireland.

The Electoral Reform Society says the first-past-the-post system is not fairly reflecting voter intentions.

It points out that in 2005 there were two DUP voters for every one UUP voter, but this translated into a nine to one ratio of parliamentary seats.

Had single transferable vote been used, Sinn Fein, the UUP and the SDLP would all now have four MPs and the DUP six.

Anomalies such as the SDLP's Dr Alasdair McDonnell's election in predominantly unionist south Belfast in 2005 and the UUP's Willy Thompson's victory in mainly nationalist West Tyrone in 1997 are also highlighted.