BRITISH PRIME minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, have both insisted that the result of the referendum on changing the United Kingdom’s election rules for the House of Commons will not damage the coalition, despite the fact that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will be on opposing sides.
The referendum on whether the first-past-the-post system should be replaced by the alternative vote, which requires all elected MPs to win more than 50 per cent of first and subsequent preferences, will be put to the people on May 5th, following this week’s agreement between the Commons and the House of Lords, where Labour peers strongly opposed it.
Saying that it was “no secret” that he disagreed with Mr Cameron on the issue, Mr Clegg, who had wanted a referendum on proportional representation but settled for AV during coalition negotiations last May, said: “What we are clear about is that this referendum is not about the coalition government. Whatever the result, we will continue to work together in the national interest.”
Calling for a Yes vote, Mr Clegg said the existing rules are out of date and have reduced public confidence in politics because so many MPs need to rely only on core support in their constituencies: “It means most MPs are elected without the support of most of the people they are supposed to represent. It means millions of voices going unheard. It makes it easy for MPs to get complacent and lazy.”
Rejecting charges that the alternative vote is too complicated, he said: “It’s as easy as 1-2-3. All you do is put a number one next to the person or party you want to win. You put a number two next to your second favourite and a three next to your third favourite. And if you only want to vote for one person then you can.
“It’s simple and it’s fairer. Opponents of AV say it is somehow against British tradition. Nonsense. The beauty of the alternative vote is that it is evolution, not revolution. It’s a small change which will make a big difference,” said the Liberal Democrat leader, who is to adopt a relatively low profile in the campaign because of his current unpopularity over college tuition fees and other issues.
Mr Cameron praised “the beautiful simplicity” of first-past-the-post: “I hope if there is a No vote the Lib Dems will say ‘we had the referendum we asked for, on the date of our choosing, but there was a No vote’. In coalition you have to deal reasonably and fairly with your partners and I think we can genuinely say that is exactly what we are doing.”
Despite their efforts to show that they can disagree in harmony, the referendum result will pose major difficulties for the two leaders. Mr Clegg must deliver a Yes vote to assuage anger among his grassroots about the decision to go into coalition, while Mr Cameron will be faced with an unhappy partner, or furious Conservative MPs, depending on the outcome.
Supporters of AV argue that change must happen because of the declining popularity of Labour and Conservatives. First-past-the-post, they argue, delivered clear results historically, when the vast majority opted for one of the two main parties. However, their share of the vote dropped to 65 per cent in the last election and looks set to keep on falling. More than two-thirds of MPs were elected without majority support.
