A referendum on AV formed part of the deal that made the Coalition Government possible. On that basis, and because I think referendums are a good thing, I have never argued against it in principle.
But I will argue for a ‘No’ vote on May 5th, and I would like to explain why.
One of the key reasons I wanted to become an MP is to campaign for political reform. But AV is not the answer. The change it offers is neither progressive nor real.
At best, it is merely a way of recycling the preferences of the losing candidates in order to cobble together an artificial ‘majority’ of 50 per cent. That’s how Ed Miliband became the surprise winner of the Labour leadership contest.
But more importantly, it is unfair. Under AV, supporters of unpopular fringe parties end up having their votes counted multiple times – and potentially decide the outcome of an election – while people who backed mainstream candidates only get one vote. Why should voters of the BNP be given more votes than voters for the Lib Dems or Conservatives?
It is very hard to see how or why a shift to AV represents a progressive step. Only three countries use AV for their national elections: Fiji, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. In Fiji, they’re about to get rid of it. In Australia, 6 out of 10 voters want to return to the British system.
Where some people in the UK do support a move to AV, it seems to have more to do with expressing unhappiness with the status quo, than support for AV in principle. Before the general election, even Nick Clegg described AV as ‘a miserable little compromise’.
Instead of engaging in this diversion, we should demand real change. Getting the Coalition partners to honour their pre-election promises to introduce a genuine Recall Mechanism so that constituents can remove MPs and Councillors who have lost the confidence of their constituents would be a very significant start.
That is what my own Bill intends to do, and that will remain my focus.
