Vote reform referendum set for May 2011
Updated on 02 July 2010
Downing Street confirms David Cameron will campaign against a change to the voting system, although Channel 4 News Political Editor Gary Gibbon reports the prime minister has been telling Nick Clegg the Lib Dems can win a vote on AV.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is likely to announce 5 May 2011 as the date for a referendum on voting reform that could pave the way for the introduction of the alternative voting (AV) system.
The vote would be held on the same date as local elections in England, as well as Scottish parliamentary and Welsh assembly elections.
The referendum could be one of the first big tests for the coalition, with the Lib Dems enthusiastic backers of voting reform but the Conservatives in favour of keeping the current first-past-the-post system.
"The coalition is an agreement on a whole range of things, including letting the British people decide whether they want a fair voting system and that was agreed irrespective of the views of individuals in either party," Deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes told Channel 4 News.
"Both parties are signed up to all of their members voting for the legislation [for the referendum] to go through, I'm sure it will go through, and if the news reports are right then next year we will give the chance to the British people to decide.
"Overwhelmingly in every poll taken a clear majority of the British people say they support a fair voting system - next year they have a chance of voting for it."
But his view is not shared on the Conservative back benches. "The national interest is in having a system where you can say to a government - you're out, and first past the post helps that most," Conservative MP Peter Bottomley, who received 51 per of the vote in his Worthing consituency at the last election, told Channel 4 News.
"Moving from first-past-the-post to alternative vote is not a big change, it's not real reform, it's not proportional representation," he said.
"It is dramatically better than going to single transferable vote or the terrible system we have for the European parliamentary election… where people can't say we don’t like a particular candidate and we'll stop them getting elected."
He rejected the suggestion that the Conservatives, who fought the general election in favour of first-past-the-post, were betraying voters by allowing a possible move to a new system of voting.
"If we get a bill through parliament that lets people decide, that's not betraying anybody - that's giving people the choice." However, he said he was "reasonably confident" voters would reject AV "if the real arguments were brought forward".
The Lib Dems, meanwhile, have long called for a more radical form of proportional representation than the alternative vote, which would have made comparatively little difference to the make-up of parliament at the last election.
Cameron prods Clegg towards a voting refendum
Channel 4 News Political Editor Gary Gibbon writes: Just when you thought the bizarre role reversals of coalition couldn't go any further... I hear that, behind the scenes, David Cameron has found himself privately encouraging a nervous Nick Clegg that he really can win a referendum on AV in May 2011.
One of the biggest concerns for the Lib Dems is Labour. Does a new Labour leader use his or her fresh political capital to back Nick Clegg's dream (the Miliband brothers back AV, as does Ed Balls) or hold back a little, keep it low-key?
The Lib Dems could really do with Labour support and it won’t ignite naturally. They have the carefully calculated advantage of combining the referendum with the elections that will bring out Scottish and Welsh voters to elect their parliament and assembly, and those voters are expected to be more at ease with changes to the voting system than the English. But with Tory opposition well-heeled and fired up, they’ll need help to get them over the line.
To read more of Gary Gibbon's blog, click here
Under the AV system, voters rank candidates by number. The candidates who wins 50 per cent of first choices is elected.
If no-one gets more than 50 per cent of first choices, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and second preferences are redistributed between the other candidates. This process continues until someone gets a majority.
Ahead of the referendum, the Liberal Democrats will campaign for the AV system but their coalition partners, the Conservatives, will argue to retain the current "first past the post" system.
Two of the leading contenders for the party leadership - David and Ed Miliband - both made clear they would campaign for a "yes" vote if they were in charge.
But another candidate, Andy Burnham, says voting reform is "irrelevant".
He told the Guardian: "Those who are calling for retention of first past the post are making an incredibly important and legitimate argument."
