This week MPs have voted in support of a Bill which would mean that next May the country would get to decide on whether they want to stick with FPTP (first past the post) or switch to AV (Alternative Vote). While this may not have been the choice many of us who support a more proportional system wanted we shouldn’t underestimate its significance.
The Fixed-Term Parliaments Bill which is being pushed by the Government – and is due for second reading next week – has been criticised by Dr Malcolm Jack, the Clerk of House of Commons – yet his comments come in strong contradiction to the findings of Professor Robert Hazell.
Two Welsh Conservative MPs have expressed their concerns over coalition plans to cut the number of Parliamentary constituencies. The Government plans which are contained within the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill passed its second reading in the Commons on Monday.test
Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has called on Labour leadership frontrunners David and Ed Miliband to support her amendment to the AV referendum bill on Monday to allow people to choose from a wider range of voting systems.
If Nick Clegg genuinely wants this referendum to be broad based, cross party and wants this coalition period to usher in more plural politics – he must split the bill.
At the age of 16, we can marry our MP, legally have sex with our MP, join the armed forces and fight for our MP and pay tax for our MP, but the one thing we cannot do is vote for our MP. How can this be justified?
AV is a superior electoral system to first-past-the-post and should be supported in a referendum. But electoral reformers should oppose the coalition’s gerrymandering
Nick Clegg’s Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill was published yesterday. It removes local control and contains carve outs for Lib Dem MPs.
Additional research by Maria Arbiter of the Fabian Society The Liberal Democrats will be the party most affected by the cut in the number of seats announced by Nick Clegg on Monday, research undertaken by Left Foot Forward reveals. In histest
With the historic referendum on electoral reform to take place in May 2011, there are just ten months to change democracy. Join Take Back Parliament.
