* DECISION: Deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Simon Hughes speaks to a television reporter at the London count for the national referendum on the
alternative vote (AV) system
He said: "What we have witnessed to our great costs is that the loser can end up winning under the
alternative vote. John Harrison lost in the initial count but came first after that.
RIFT: Cameron and Clegg are divided over the
alternative vote system
It is believed that agreeing to take the
Alternative Vote system to referendum was one of the deciding factors for the Lib Dem leader in agreeing to form a coalition with the Conservatives.
The big question still to be answered, then, is whether Labour and the Lib-Dems can still offer a distinctive
alternative vote. Especially to an ageing population's desire to be, well, conservative.
THE
Alternative Vote referendum produced a thumping victory for the No camp with more than 11.4m people UK-wide rejecting a change in the way MPs are elected.
Shortly before 10pm, with just two results left to declare, some 12.5 million people (68.4%) had voted to keep the first-past-the-post system to elect MPs, against just 5.8 million (31.6%) backing the
Alternative Vote.
AFTER everything that the Tories and NO2AV told them about the glories of the First Past The Post electoral system and the evils of the
Alternative Vote, people may be surprised next year when they are asked to vote for local police commissioners.
A YouGov poll has given the No camp in the
Alternative Vote debate a substantial lead.
Why should any Conservative make an
alternative vote? Why should a Labour supporter make an alternative choice for a party at odds with Socialist values?
A referendum, taking place alongside council elections, will ask the following question: "Do you want the United Kingdom to adopt the '
alternative vote' system instead of the current 'first past the post' system for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons?" But tomorrow is the day that you get to decide.
The
alternative vote system is a more complicated, more time consuming and more expensive to operate - estimates suggest it could cost as much as pounds 250m more.
