Why I voted no

I voted no to AV (postal vote) for a bunch of reasons; the first, and probably most important, is that nobody really wants it. The British public has not been clamouring for constitutional change; as we know, the vote is simply a device to facilitate the coalition. The Lib Dems don’t really want it – press them on the issue and they mumble well, it’s better than what we have, just about, but without the remotest enthusiasm. The majority of the Labour Party and almost all Tories oppose it.

But it’s also a matter of fairness. All electoral systems are flawed and I’m aware that an MP elected with only 30-odd per cent of the vote is obviously going to displease more people, via his political views, than he keeps happy. But there is still a robust, unequivocal, straightness to first past the post, whatever its inherent problems.

The best definition of the unfairness of AV came in a Coffee House thread on the subject. And, when you examine the matter, it is staggeringly unfair, not to mention absurd. It was this:

Imagine a three way fight between Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem. The Labour candidate polls 45 per cent, The Tory 35 per cent, The Lib Dem 20 per cent. In FPTP, Labour wins. However, this is AV. In my contest both Labour and Tory give their second preferences to the Lib Dem (as might well happen) – but he is eliminated. The second preferences of the Lib Dem voters all go to the Tory, who therefore wins the contest. The Lib Dem, who is the first or second choice of 100 per cent of the electorate, does not get past round one. Further, 80 per cent of the electorate is partially disenfranchised by having only one of its votes counted.