A group campaigning for the introduction of proportional representation in Scottish local government elections has been launched in Edinburgh.

The Fairshare group is chaired by Andrew Burns, a Labour Edinburgh councillor, and backed by Canon Kenyon Wright who chaired the executive committee of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. It also has the support of Charter88 and the Electoral Reform Society.

Commenting after the launch of the campaign Pam Giddy, Director of Charter88, said: "Electoral reform will do more than anything else to modernise local government in Scotland. It will do away with one-party councils and safe seats but more importantly it will make councillors more accountable to their constituents. In short reform will give voters more influence over their councils."

The Scottish Labour Party has "pledged to undertake full consultation" on the proposals, a process that is still on-going.

Iain Smith, the Lib Dem local government spokesman in Scotland, gave his full support to the Kerley proposals, saying: "Too many councils are dominated by one party which does not have the support of a majority of voters. The commitment to change is in the Partnership Agreement with Labour. We'll make sure it is introduced."

The Scottish National Party has also backed reform. A spokesman said the party was "fully committed to the democratic principles of proportional representation" and predicted that "the winners will be the people of Scotland".

However Scottish Conservatives are not giving their support to the calls for change. A spokeswoman for Raymond Robertson, chairman of the party in Scotland, said "the last thing we need now is reform". Voter participation would be better served by "electoral education" rather than changes which may "scare off" voters.

Fairshare is supporting the implementation of the Kerley Report on Renewing Local Democracy which recommended the use of one of three systems of proportional representation in local elections: the Additional Member System, the Alternative Vote Plus or the Single Transferable Vote. The report also called for widening access to local government and increased remuneration for local councillors. It was published in June 2000 and included a recommendation that the Scottish executive take "an early decision on the date of implementation of a new electoral system."