ACTION ALERT! U.K Vote Yes to ALTERNATIVE VOTE AV!

Vote "YES!" to AV

 

 

Why an AV referendum?

 

Recognising the need to "clean up" politics after the MP expenses scandal, the Liberal Democrats promised in their election manifesto for the 2010 general election that they would introduce an electoral system based on proportional representation (PR).  PR is an electoral method that matches as closely as possible the vote share won by parties in an election to their share of seats in the House of Commons.

 

As part of the agreement reached by the Coalition before taking office was the holding of a referendum on May 5^th to change the UK's electoral system from "First Past the Post" (FPTP) to the "Alternative Vote" (AV).

 

AV is not a system of proportional representation but it does offer a significant opportunity to change the way we do politics by ensuring that candidates selected to represent constituencies are voted in by a majority (50% + 1) and not a plurality (greatest number) of votes.

 

How does AV work?

 

 

1. AV works by registering the preferences of voters for a candidate in rank order – that means, first preference, second preference, third preference etc
2. The first preferences of voters are then totalled and the candidate who reaches the 50% threshold of first order preferences wins the seat
3. If a candidate doesn't reach the 50% threshold, the ballots of the candidate who gained the least number of first order preferences is eliminated and the second order preferences of those voters are allocated to the remaining candidates.
4. If a candidate reaches the 50% threshold at the second round, he/she is declared the winner. If not, the contest goes to a third round with the candidate at the bottom of the table eliminated and the second order preferences allocated to the remaining candidates
5. The "rounds" continue until a candidate reaches the 50% threshold, each time eliminating the candidate with the least number of votes and reallocating their ballots on second order preferences.

  

Why you should vote "YES to AV"

 

1. AV is a fairer system than the current electoral method of FPTP. It will end the distorting effect of FPTP where parties can win a majority of seats on a minority of votes. See for example, the table below which breaks down the party share of the vote and its share of seats in parliament based on the 2010 and 2005 general election results:

 

 

2010 general election	Seats won	% share of seats	% share of vote
Cons	307	47.2	36.48
Lab	258	39.7	28.99
Lib Dem	57	8.8	23.03
2005 general election	Seats won	% share of seats	% share of vote
Lab	355	55	35.2
Cons	198	30.74	32.4
Lib Dem	62	9.6	22.0

 

 

2. AV is more democratic – under AV every vote counts because candidates have to reach a 50% threshold in order to win a seat. It will end the practice of "wasted votes" in "safe seats" where votes cast for candidates other than the "safe candidate" do not count for anything, even if the "safe candidate" enjoys less than 50% of the popular vote
3. AV is more representative because MPs need to gain up to 50% of the vote in a constituency in order to be awarded the responsibility and privilege of representing it.
4. AV will invigorate MP- Constituent links by making MPs more accountable to their electorate in all seats. MPs will be forced to work hard every electoral cycle to gain 50% of the votes needed to win an election, rather than aim simply to win a plurality (more votes than the next wo/man and very often less than 50%)
5. AV will marginalise extremist parties and deny them electoral representation. This is because candidates have to win at least 50% of the vote share in a constituency in order to win the seat. Extremist parties like the BNP do well under the present "winner takes all" system of FPTP but they will find it much harder, if not impossible, to win seats under AV. That is why the BNP are opposed to electoral change.

  

What difference does it make?

 

The AV referendum is the single most important change that has been proposed to the way we do politics in the UK. It is an opportunity to endorse a change that will send a signal to politicians that we as voters want elections and their outcomes to be fairer, more representative and more democratic.

 

At a time of declining voter participation in elections with more than a third of voters not turning out to vote (voter turnout in 2010 was 65.1% and in 2005 it was 61.4%), the AV referendum is an opportunity to reinvigorate political participation and representative democracy by proving to voters that their votes count.

 

ENGAGE urges you to vote "YES! to AV" on May 5^th and to say YES! to:

 

• fairer election outcomes based on majority rule;
• marginalisation of extremist parties; and
• building strong local communities with stronger MP – constituent links