Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to say in his first Labour conference address that he will press ahead with plans to overhaul the UK's voting system, beginning a process that could ultimately replace first-past-the-post (FPTP) with a form of proportional representation (PR).
Long a proponent of electoral reform, Burnham's anticipated announcement signals an intention to pursue one of the most significant constitutional changes in recent decades. The move would mark a clear effort by the government to alter the mechanics of how members of Parliament are elected and to reshape the political landscape.
What exactly constitutes proportional representation can vary, but the broad aim is to make the share of seats won by parties in legislatures more closely match their share of the vote. By contrast, the current first-past-the-post system awards individual constituency seats to the candidate with the most votes, a method critics say can produce disproportional outcomes and over-reward larger parties.
Any transition from FPTP to a PR system would require legislation in Parliament and is likely to trigger extended debate across the political spectrum. Such a reform could involve detailed consultations on the specific model of proportionality to adopt, the design of constituencies or regional lists, and the method for implementing change for different levels of government.
The announcement at conference is expected to set out the government's intent and open a pathway for more detailed proposals and discussions. If the prime minister follows through, the policy is likely to become a central point of debate between parties and within Labour as the parliamentary and public processes needed to enact such a change begin to unfold.