Coogan and Vorderman back Liberal Democrats' electoral reform pledge

Actor Steve Coogan and presenter Carol Vorderman have backed Liberal Democrat pledges to reform how the UK's general elections are run.

The Lib Dems have long called for first past the post (FPTP) to be replaced with proportional representation (PR).

Vorderman said the current system fails to deliver parliaments that "properly reflect the will of the nation".

Coogan also backed the Lib Dems' campaign, and said "millions of people's voices go unheard".

Their pre-recorded video messages were screened at a party rally in Bournemouth.

Under FPTP, the candidate who receives the most votes in a local constituency wins a seat in the House of Commons.

By contrast, PR is the idea that parties' seats in parliament should be allocated so that they are in proportion to the number of votes cast.

Versions of proportional representation are already used to elect representatives in legislatures in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

"We desperately need to end a system where only marginal seats matter, end a system which delivers parliaments that fail to accurately reflect votes cast and end a system where only the winner's votes count," Vorderman said.

"It has to change. But how do we get there? Well, in my opinion, the first step is tactical voting."

Vorderman hit out at the Conservatives, telling party members that it is "absolutely vital" they "come together to defeat the Tories".

Coogan, who in the past has supported Labour and appeared in the party's election material, said he plans to vote for Lib Dem candidate in Lewes, James MacCleary in a bid to oust Conservative MP Maria Caulfield.

• Lib Dems launch conference with £5bn-a-year free social care plan

• Party conferences: What, where and when are they?

"I'm not a member of the Lib Dems despite the beard and the fleece, I generally vote Labour," he said.

"But where I live in Lewes, the candidate best placed to kick the Tories out is the Lib Dem candidate, so I vote for them."

Coogan also urged the public to vote tactically against the Conservatives in 2019, when Brexit was one of the main electoral issues.

Party leader Sir Ed Davey said the Conservatives are "living on borrowed time".

"We know it. They know it. And when they finally decide to call time on so many years of shambles and sleaze, the Liberal Democrats will be ready," he said.

"Ready to fight for our NHS, ready to fight for the protection of our precious environment, ready to fight for the fair deal the British people deserve."