What is this AV thing all about?
· On May 5th, at the same time as voting in the local election for Sefton Council, you will also be asked to vote for or against a change in the way we elect our MPs next time.
How does AV work?
· It’s easy as 1, 2, 3 ...Changing to the AV (Alternative Vote) system just means numbering the candidates on the ballot paper in order of preference – instead of putting an ‘X’ against one name. An AV ballot paper will look exactly the same as it currently does. Instead of only putting an ‘X’ in just one box, you will be able to put a ‘1, 2, 3…' and so on in as many boxes as you like.
· You can vote for as many or as few candidates on the list as you want to. With AV, if your favourite doesn’t win, you can still have a say in who is elected. But if you only want to support one candidate, you can - just mark an ‘X’ as you did before.
· In a democracy, MPs ought to have the support of a majority of their constituents. Under AV, if no candidate commands 50% support, the last placed candidate drops out and their voters’ second preferences come into play. This continues until one candidate has majority support. The reallocation of votes over several rounds is not complicated to organise and forms a part of many efficient and fair voting systems in this country and around the world.
So why change what we have ?
· Under our current ‘First Past the Post’ system for electing MPs, you only get one choice. That means that most MPs – 2 out of 3 of those elected in 2010! - get to parliament with less than half of voters on their side. With AV, candidates have to do more in order to gain public support. They have to consider the interests of a much wider group of the public than just relying on looking after the interests of their own party supporters.
Would we still have one MP just for the Sefton Central Constituency - like we did under the ‘First Past the Post’ system?
· Yes! You will still have one MP in your area, and they will speak for the majority of the community.
· This is about more than just who is MP for Sefton Central. It is also about who runs our Government. Too many MPs have got used to ‘jobs for life’ in the safe seats the current system has created. AV would give these complacent MPs a wake up call.
· For the millions of people forced into tactical voting just to keep out a candidate they don’t like, AV offers the chance of an honest vote. Political parties who can currently just focus on a handful of voters in marginal seats to get into power will have to secure much wider support in future.
More information can be found at: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/
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