Should Andy Burnham make voting compulsory?

Illustration by Charlotte Trounce “At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper.” This was Winston Churchill’s assessment. But what if the little man (or woman) is no longer walking into the polling booth? What happens to democracy then? The third reading of the Representation of the People Bill, which would lower the voting age to 16 and tighten campaign finance rules, has been postponed until after parliament’s summer recess. This has prompted speculation that Andy Burnham might want to push the legislation further. Top of the amendment list is a call for a national commission on electoral reform, which has nearly a third of MPs signed up. Less popular but more in