Prior to the 1997 British election, the Labour and Liberal Democratic parties agreed to set up a commission to examine the first-past-the-post system. The five-member Independent Commission on the Voting System (the Jenkins Commission) was established in December 1997. Its mandate was to propose an alternative to the current electoral model used in the United Kingdom. The new model was to be put to the people in a referendum, along with the existing model. The Commission's terms of reference were to strive to achieve:

• broad proportionality;
   
• "the need for stable government";
   
• greater voter choice; and
   
• maintaining a link between representatives and voters.

The commission was also guided by the following principles:

• Fairness: "the wishes of the electorate should be represented as effectively as possible."
   
• Major parties should not have their power unduly circumscribed.
   
• Members of Parliament (MPs) serve an important function in representing their constituents and they serve as a pool from which to select ministers, yet they are seen as relatively weak in the policy-making process.

After considering different models, the Jenkins Commission decided that a modified system of the Alternative Vote (the model used in the Australian House of Representatives) best met the needs of British society. However, although Alternative Vote had the advantage that it promoted greater voter choice, it was inadequate on its own since it did not ensure broad proportionality. Thus the Commission proposed "Alternative Vote Plus." Under this model:

• the majority of representatives would be elected in constituencies using the Alternative Vote; and
   
• the remainder would be elected to serve a corrective, "top-up" function. These MPs would be voted for in a second vote using an open list. The second vote could support an individual candidate or a party list.

To maintain the primacy of constituent-representative relations, the number of corrective or "top-up" MPs was kept to a minimum. The Alternative Vote Plus model is a moderate departure from the traditional first-past-the-post voting system, but corrected the major weakness of lack of broad proportionality. The British government has yet to hold a referendum on the matter. However, the new legislative chambers of Scotland and Wales use proportional models.