A letter from 27 candidates in last week's General Election across five parties has been sent to Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn calling for urgent changes to the electoral system. Of the 1.3 million voters in Kent, only 500,000 voted for an MP who now represents them leaving the majority, 800,000, without an MP who represents their views.

The letter:

Dear Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn,

Here in Kent we have 17 constituencies, one of which has a Labour MP and 16 of which have Conservative MPs. There are 1.3 million people on the electoral register in Kent but only 503,000 voted for an MP who now represents them.

This means that we have over 800,000 people who have an MP that they did not vote for and who very probably doesn't represent their views. Far more people have no representation in Kent than are represented - this is not democracy.

Nationally, the number of votes that each party needs to gain a seat is completely disproportional. Dividing the number of votes nationally by the number of MPs elected for a party, the Greens returned 1 MP for 525,000 votes, UKIP returned no MPs despite 594,000 votes, the Lib Dems had an average of 198,000 votes per MP while Conservatives and Labour had averages of 43,000 and 49,000 respectively - and these vote shares were even more disproportional in 2015. This is not democracy.

The vast majority of OECD countries now have proportional systems of election for national government and of course we have proportional systems for regional and EU elections - demonstrating that governments have recognised that these are better than FPTP. Continuing with FPTP for UK general elections is simply not democratic.

The referendum in 2011 was for the Alternative Vote system. This is a voting system that is not proportional and therefore not democratic which is why it was rejected.

The First Past the Post system is a flawed legacy that needs to be replaced urgently. Our electoral system is broken and a proportional system of election will help fix it. People need to have MPs who represent their views.

Please bring a bill to introduce proportional representation before the next general election so that this country can finally become a democratic one.

Yours sincerely

Stuart Jeffery, Green Party candidate for Maidstone and the Weald
Mandy Rossi, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Ashford
Henry Stanton, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Canterbury
James Flanagan Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Canterbury and Whitstable
Bernard Hyde, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Chatham and Aylesford
Andy Blatchford, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Dartford
Rebecca Sawbridge, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Dover
Alastair Gould, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Faversham and Mid Kent
Michael Desmond Labour candidate Faversham and Mid Kent
Martin Whybrow, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone and Hythe
Stephen Priestley Former UKIP Parliamentary Candidate Folkestone and Hythe Constituency
Lynne Beaumont Liberal Democrat candidate for Folkestone and Hythe
Clive Gregory, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Gillingham and Rainham
Roger Peacock, Christian Peoples Alliance, Gillingham and Rainham
Marna Giligan, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Gravesham
James Willis Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Gravesham
Ed Targett, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for North Thanet
Martyn Pennington Liberal Democrat, North Thanet
Sonia Hyner, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Rochester and Strood
Philip Dodd, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Sevenoaks
Alan Bullion Lib Dems Sevenoaks and Swanley constituency
Dr Graham Cushway, UKIP candidate for Sevenoaks
Mark Lindop, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Mike Baldock - Independent - Sittingbourne & Sheppey
Trevor Roper, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for South Thanet
April Clark, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Tonbridge & Malling
Trevor Bisdee, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Tunbridge Wells

All candidates in the June 2017 General Election in Kent