The Lib Dems, as part of the coalition deal, have brought about a referendum on the Alternative Vote system, hoping to bring a more proportional element to our system of government.
However, AV is NOT proportional. Although more fair than our present First Past The Post system, AV will not present a just outcome to represent the true mood of the nation. For example, should the Lib Dems receive the same number of votes as they did in May 2010 (and I hope that they do), an AV system would give them somewhere in the region of 75 seats, as opposed to a proportional system, which would warrant 149. This is a frankly massive difference and the Lib Dems could probably have argued further for a better system – I’m sure the Tories were pretty desperate at the time...
Now, not being old enough to vote yet (I’m seventeen in eleven days), I am fortunate in that I don’t have to make a decision about which way to vote. As I see it, if AV receives a good reception, it will be accepted into our system and no more will be said, thereby spoiling any chance of an even fairer system. On the other token, should a majority reject the idea, it could be seen as a mandate to retain the current FPTP system, again destroying the possibility of proportional representation.
The only solution as I, a somewhat precocious and potentially ill-informed teenager, see it is to vote ‘No’ on the ballot, but ensure a strong media coverage of the motives behind voting – therefore showing Mr Clegg with his ‘suggestions on a postcard’ mentality that the public would like an even more radical change than the Alternative Vote.
This could be backed by all points of the political spectrum – Green party socialists, Lib Dem liberals, UKIP conservatives and BNP fascists. Only power-hungry members of the two main parties have a reason not to want a fairer system, and even some of them may be able to muster up the moral courage to vote for proportionality!
Anyway, pluralism and proportional representation are the way forward, so don’t let the Tories play the ‘benevolent’ card – the Alternative Vote may be a step in the right direction, but it’ll take a few more than that for us to have a truly free democracy.
Yet another reason to vote no on this referendum is that it not only introduces the watered down AV, but also reduces the number of MPs and redraws constituency boundaries in a completely unfair way.
ReplyDeleteNever mind Nick Clegg getting more than AV out of the Conservatives, he could have gone into coalition with Labour where he would have been guaranteed AV and in addition to that would have been given a referendum on full PR!
Clegg has forgotten Lib Dem policy on PR, forgotten his economic policy and forgotten his promise on student fees. In return the electorate can forget voting Lib Dem.