Make sure you vote NO today

Today I urge everyone who believes in our democracy to vote ‘no’ to the unfair and expensive Alternative Vote (AV) system.
 
The recent polls have been encouraging but you must remember that there is no turnout threshold today – any complacency and the UK could sleepwalk into a heavily flawed voting system that we would struggle to get rid of.
 
Instead of voting being clear, simple and effective like our current system, the Alternative Vote’s complex counting process breaks the principle of ‘One Person, One Vote’ which is the foundation of our democracy.

People who vote for the fringe parties, like the BNP, can have their votes counted several times under AV, while those voting for mainstream parties have their vote counted just once. I regard that as profoundly unfair.

The Alternative Vote system is also more complicated, which could result in several millions being spent on educating the voters and counting the votes. When the Government is working hard to tackle the deficit, it doesn’t make sense to switch to a less fair system that makes the vote counting process more expensive and time-consuming.

It speaks volumes that AV is only used by three other countries – Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. While AV is used by around 130 million people, First Past the Post is used by a massive 2.4 billion people across the world. Why would Britain change our tried and tested system for one that has been rejected by almost every other country?
 
AV is not an improvement over the current system; it’s an untested, unfair and expensive muddle, which breaks the principle of One Person, One Vote – the best and the fairest way to choose a government.
 
Don’t let a few self-interested Liberal Democrats and special interest groups saddle Britain with the obscure and flawed AV system.
 
Polls close at 10pm. Make sure you vote NO today.

Matthew Elliott is Campaign Director of NO to AV