There are moments in politics that I find myself chuckling away when I read what is happening - today is such a day. (I am aware this is possibly the uncoolest statement made by a 19 year old)
Regardless, I'll continue. The debate on the Alternative Vote (AV) has been raging for a while now, the Liberal Democrats made it one of their four key policies in their manifesto and would have refused to join the Coalition without "a bankable" offer from the Tories on an AV referendum (public vote).
Why do the Lib Dem's want it so badly? AV is a more representative of people's votes, currently we use a First Past The Post (FPTP) system which means one candidate can win with less than 50% of the popular vote. Crucially for the Lib Dem's they feel the FPTP is hurting them, in 2010 they won 23% of the popular vote, but they didn't receive anywhere near 1 in 4 seats - closer to 1 in 10 in fact.
In May when the Coalition was formed, the Tories gave the Lib Dem's their assurance that a referendum would be held on AV. But it has been anything but easy since then. The House of Lords has refused to pass the bill as it stands and yesterday announced that they have given their support to the bill, only on the condition that 40% of the electorate votes on it. Meaning 4 in 10 people most vote (either way) on 5th May 2011.
Firstly, this makes the job of the No2AV campaigners unbelievably simple, if they can convince enough people to NOT vote at all, they'll "win". It doesn't matter if 39% of the electorate turn out and ALL vote yes. The AV bill still won't "be legitimate" and will count for nothing. So Yes2AV campaigners really have to step up their game, especially on the back of an announcement by YouGov that AV and FPTP are neck and neck in the polls.
Finally, lets get back to the title - hypocrisy. Yes, the hypocrites in the House of Lords have decided that the AV vote isn't safe for us mere mortals to have - but for them, it is fair game. A hereditary peer has sadly died and because he was important in the House of Lords, all 786 peers will have their chance to vote and rank in order their preference for a new peer to replace him.
One rule for one, but sadly not for all.
Yes to fairer votes. Yes to Av.
Regardless, I'll continue. The debate on the Alternative Vote (AV) has been raging for a while now, the Liberal Democrats made it one of their four key policies in their manifesto and would have refused to join the Coalition without "a bankable" offer from the Tories on an AV referendum (public vote).
WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE VOTE
Under the AV system, voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference.
Anyone getting more than 50% of first-preference votes is elected.
If no-one gets 50% of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers' second choices allocated to those remaining.
This process continues until one candidate has at least 50% of all votes in that round.
BBC NewsWhy do the Lib Dem's want it so badly? AV is a more representative of people's votes, currently we use a First Past The Post (FPTP) system which means one candidate can win with less than 50% of the popular vote. Crucially for the Lib Dem's they feel the FPTP is hurting them, in 2010 they won 23% of the popular vote, but they didn't receive anywhere near 1 in 4 seats - closer to 1 in 10 in fact.
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| Vote Yes on May 5th |
In May when the Coalition was formed, the Tories gave the Lib Dem's their assurance that a referendum would be held on AV. But it has been anything but easy since then. The House of Lords has refused to pass the bill as it stands and yesterday announced that they have given their support to the bill, only on the condition that 40% of the electorate votes on it. Meaning 4 in 10 people most vote (either way) on 5th May 2011.
Firstly, this makes the job of the No2AV campaigners unbelievably simple, if they can convince enough people to NOT vote at all, they'll "win". It doesn't matter if 39% of the electorate turn out and ALL vote yes. The AV bill still won't "be legitimate" and will count for nothing. So Yes2AV campaigners really have to step up their game, especially on the back of an announcement by YouGov that AV and FPTP are neck and neck in the polls.
Finally, lets get back to the title - hypocrisy. Yes, the hypocrites in the House of Lords have decided that the AV vote isn't safe for us mere mortals to have - but for them, it is fair game. A hereditary peer has sadly died and because he was important in the House of Lords, all 786 peers will have their chance to vote and rank in order their preference for a new peer to replace him.
One rule for one, but sadly not for all.
Yes to fairer votes. Yes to Av.
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